Never Play With Fire
by Angelscribe
Summary: They say home is where the heart is, but will Chris Benoit ever get the girl? Only one way to find out! Features many of the WWF roster. Please R 'n' R! *finally updated!*
1. Ch. 1

Author's notes: In case you recognise this, it was uploaded before but it ended up being abandonned. Since then, it's gone a whole lot further and I thought I might as well give it a second chance. There may be minor changes in the parts previously posted, but nothing mega. I don't own any of the wrestlers so please don't sue. Besides, you can't take what I don't have! There will be a few original characters appearing who belong to me - so far that'll be Shannon, Billy and Paige. And remember, even though I generally use real names, except when the characters are in the ring, this is based on the characters' backstage personalities, not their real lives. Sounds confusing, but you'll know what I mean when you read it. (I hope!) Anyways, please read and review. Thank you! 

Ch. 1. 

Cheers echoed around the packed out stadium as the World Wrestling Federation Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin, paced up and down the ring, title belt in one hand, microphone in the other. In spite of the cheers, he had an angry look on his face because, no matter how much he tried to kid himself, he knew the fans weren't cheering for him. He might be the champion, but no, they definitely weren't cheering for him. 

He had appeared in the ring in order to rant about the defeat of himself and Triple H which had cost them the Tag Team titles. However, he should have known better than think he would gain any support from this crowd. Not only were they in Canada, home country of the new title holders, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, they were also in Edmonton, Alberta, home town of Chris Benoit. 

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think we can certainly say that this crowd just doesn't want to hear from Stone Cold right now." said JR, from his position at the commentators' table. 

"That's right, JR. And unfair." added Paul Heyman, "He is the champion and, as such, commands a little respect." 

"Oh, please." disagreed JR, once Austin's best, and perhaps only, friend, "COMMANDS respect? DEmands it maybe, but he certainly doesn't deserve it, not any more." 

Steve Austin tried again to talk down the crowd with little success; they weren't even bothering to jeer him, they just continued to chant for Benoit and Jericho. Determined that he would not let them beat him, Austin lifted the microphone and yelled for silence; a request that, not surprisingly, went unanswered. 

"I don't deserve this, do you know who I am? My name is Stone Cold Steve Austin, the champion of the World Wrestling Federation, dammit! I do not deserve this! Listen to me ..... I said, listen to me! Y'all think your little Canadian heroes are gonna keep those belts? Well, I say - UH-UH! Once we get the rematch we deserve, those belts, they'll be right back where they belong ....." 

Suddenly he was cut off by a roar from the crowd as the countdown to Chris Jericho's entrance began. Austin seemed rooted to the spot, his eyes fixed on the top of the ramp as the explosion of fireworks rocked the stadium and Jericho appeared with his microphone raised and wearing his "Jericho" hockey shirt. 

"It's Jericho! Y2J, Chris Jericho is here!" yelled JR excitedly. 

"He shouldn't be out here, he doesn't have a match." said Paul petulantly. 

"Well, neither does Austin. What's your point, Paul?" asked JR. 

"My point, JR, is, there's enough lack of respect for our champion without Jericho coming out here to pour salt in the wound." 

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You have no business being out here ....." raged Austin. 

"Hey, hey, calm down there, Junior." said Jericho calmly, "I'm only out here to deliver a message, so, if you'll let me continue, here it is." He paused for a second as he produced a piece of paper and began to read, "Stone Cold Steve Austin, WWF Champion ..... that's you ..... would you please SHUT THE HELL UP!" he finished in a roar, which the crowd was only to happy to join in with, throwing the blank piece of paper to the ground. He continued angrily, "By demanding a rematch for the tag titles, you MADE it my business to be out here. I think it's safe to say none of us are happy with the current situation - even with the help of Vince and that tramp Triple H calls his wife, you two ass clowns still couldn't hold on to the belts. And, even though Chris Benoit and I are unquestionably the new tag team champions, here I am, back in the ring trying to talk some sense into a prize JACKASS! I hope it's true what they say - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but come to think of it, we are in danger of being bored to death by your never-ending stream of crap!" 

"My name is Stone Cold Steve ....." 

"Yeah, yeah, Junior, why don't you change the record and give us all a break? This may come as a shock to you, but guess what? No one cares what your name is because, as all these Jericholics know, MY name is Y2J," shouted Jericho, only to be greeted by a shout of approval from the crowd, "And that means it's your turn to listen to me now!" 

Just as he was about to continue, he noticed Austin roll out of the ring and charge up the ramp towards him. Jericho quickly dropped his microphone and ran headlong into the attack. The two men began a heated brawl which, due to Austin trailing Jericho by his long wavy blond hair, ended up in the ring. 

"And it's Jericho and Austin going at it, right here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada." announced JR, "And this isn't even a proper match, these two men just want to inflict as much PAIN on each other as possible." 

"Look out, JR." warned Paul, as Jericho was tossed over the ropes to the mat in front of the announce table, "It looks like we're going to be getting a bit too close to the action soon." 

"Oh no! What's Austin doing?" asked JR, "He's lifting Jericho on to our announce table, he's ..... where's he going? What the ..... My GOD! Austin's got a chair, he's going to use the steel chair on the already battered and bruised Jericho! We need to get some security out here, this ..... this ANNIHILATION has to be stopped!" 

***** 


	2. Ch. 2

Ch. 2. 

Meanwhile, Chris Benoit had arrived at the stadium and was walking through the backstage area, on his way to the dressing rooms, when he was stopped by an obviously agitated Vince McMahon. 

"Hey, Vince, something wrong?" he asked. 

"You sure got that right. It's Steve and Chris, they're fighting in the ring ....." 

"Already? Am I late? I thought we weren't kicking that storyline off until after the first couple of matches, what's going on?" frowned Chris. 

"It's Steve, he's finally snapped. I knew he was having a few personal problems, but it was giving him a real edge so I thought I'd leave him to it. Now, it seems like he's stuck in that "Stone Cold" mentality; he's completely flipped and we have no idea what sparked this off. Security have got their hands completely full with crowd problems outside and no one is too keen to go out there. Quite frankly, I don't blame them, but I don't know what to do; I can't have him destroying half the roster. I would try to talk to him, but ....." 

"What about Chris? You can't leave him out there to get torn apart!" protested Chris. 

"He's proved a popular guy, judging from the number of times I've already had to hear this. I've already had the exact same argument from Nora, Amy, Matt, Jeff, and practically anyone else you care to mention! Nevertheless, my answer doesn't change - I can't let any of you out there, it's an insurance nightmare! It's Security's job, we have to leave it to them." 

"That's just plain stupid." 

"Well, you're entitled to your opinion, but it doesn't change anything. Listen, I'm as unhappy about it as you are." 

"I could say I believe you, but I'd be lying." snapped Chris. "Is Chris okay? Does he know what's going on?" 

"He doesn't know; when we sent him out, we thought Steve had just gotten the time wrong and decided we would have to run with it. He won't know what's hit him, but we'll just have to hope he can hold his own until backup arrives ..... Where are you going?" 

"Backup's here." said Chris shortly, determination plain on his face. 

Vince's eyes widened and then he shook his head and folded his arms firmly, "Oh no, didn't you hear me? You are NOT going out there! Over my dead body!" 

"You better hope it doesn't come to that." 

The owner of the company looked pained, he was torn between the two options. It wasn't that he wanted to abandon one of his top stars, but he was a businessman at heart and the company would always come first. Finally, he thought of a way the situation could perhaps be resolved to everyone's advantage and gave in, at least partially, under the stern glare of Chris Benoit. 

"You can't go like that." he said, looking pointedly at Chris's street clothes, "We can't let the crowd suspect anything's wrong; it wouldn't be good publicity if this got out." 

"Is that all you can think about? The BUSINESS? And how do you think it'll look if one of your mere employees kills another on live television?" argued Chris in exasperation, before deciding it would probably save time to just comply with Vince's orders, "Fine, fine, I'll change. Then I'm going straight out there and I don't care what image it gives the company, I'LL stop him." 

As Chris stormed off to change, Vince could only watch him worriedly and then hurry to see if any security was now available. 

***** 

In his dressing room, Chris was making the fastest change he had ever made, pulling on his black and red "Wolverine" tights and then reaching for his shirt. He grabbed the new shirt he had planned on wearing to make his big entrance later that night. It was a hockey shirt with "Benoit" across the back, kind of to match his tag partner's, except this one was a replica of a real team's kit, the Edmonton Oilers. Chris had always been a big fan of his theirs, but he had made a point of wearing it, knowing his fans would love to see he supported the home team. 

"Home, Sweet Home." he said to himself wryly, pulling on the shirt, "Some welcome." 

***** 


	3. Ch. 3

Ch. 3. 

Back at ringside, Chris Jericho was looking much the worse for wear with blood on his face and confusion in his eyes. 

"What the hell are you doing, Steve?" he mouthed, when he knew the camera's view of his face would be blocked, "This wasn't in the plan!" 

However, the only answer he received was a blow to the face which sent him reeling back into the announce table. 

"Well, Paul, I think Stone Cold has finally been pushed over the edge and whether or not Jericho is the person responsible, he is certainly the one taking the punishment, and WHAT a punishment!" 

"It's like I always say, JR - if you can't handle the heat, you shouldn't provoke the chef. It's as simple as that." 

"What are you talking about?" exclaimed JR, "I've never heard you say that. And anyway, I thought you would have learned by now that nothing is EVER simple in the world of WWF!" 

"Well, we argued earlier about whether Jericho had any business being out here, I bet he wishes now he'd stayed in the back." said Paul. 

"For once, I agree." nodded JR, "I can't believe the MAYHEM that is taking place right before our eyes." 

The crowd were glued to the events going on, urging Jericho to fight back and constantly directing jeers at Steve Austin. Even though they wanted to help Jericho, for once he wished he could tell them to shut up. Every time the crowd yelled his name, he could see the fury in Austin's eyes and feel the increasing power behind each blow. He wondered where everyone was; someone backstage had to have realised by now that something was wrong, so where was Security? As he tried to think what to do, one particularly strong blow blurred his vision and the next thing he knew, he was lying sprawled across the announce table with Steve Austin towering over him, shouting something which was certainly unintelligible, and more than likely unrepeatable. 

"Look, look, JR!" shouted Paul suddenly, as the crowd rose to its feet at the appearance of a figure at the top of the ramp, everyone straining to see who it was. 

"There's someone at the top of the ramp, but who?" said JR, "Maybe it's Vince McMahon, coming to watch this unlawful destruction of Y2J." 

It soon became apparent that this was not Vince McMahon in his usual ringside capacity as sadistic spectator; this person was running towards the action to the deafening standing ovation of the crowd, when they realised who it was and why he was there. 

"It's Chris Benoit! Chris Benoit is coming to the aid of his tag partner, Chris Jericho, in his home town of Edmonton and the fans are loving it!" yelled JR, growing more and more enthusiastic in his commentary, "Perhaps now we'll return to some semblance of order. I must say, it has taken some guts for Benoit to come out and face this ..... this ENRAGED Stone Cold, without knowing what's going through the mind of his enemy. I guess this home crowd has given him some extra fire tonight." 

"It's unfair on our champion, that's what it is. It's a TRAP by the tag title holders, making him think he's got the upper hand and then subjecting him to double teaming manoeuvres." argued Paul. 

"Oh, come on, Jericho is in no shape to be double teaming anyone. Stone Cold has beaten the life out of him with a steel chair and, look! Jericho is lying, almost LIFELESS, on our announce table and Stone Cold is raising the chair again to bring it crashing down on those bruised ribs. Look at that sick, maniacal smile on Austin's face - he's actually ENJOYING this!" 

As JR and Paul watched in a mixture of shock and amazement, the chair was brought down with a force they had never seen before and, as they hurriedly dived out of the way, they both realised that the cry of pain which the shot elicited was real. From the relative safety of their position, crouching low behind their table, they shot anxious glances at each other and tried, not for the first time in their careers, to work out what was going on in front of them. 

***** 

Jericho was crying out in pain and clutching his ribs, only opening his eyes long enough to see the chair raised for another shot. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and braced himself, but the blow never came. Although he had not tried to hide his appearance and the crowd was screaming his name, Benoit's arrival had gone unnoticed by Austin, who seemed oblivious to everyone except the target he had latched on to, Chris Jericho. Benoit had seized the opportunity to sneak up behind Austin and now grabbed the chair as Austin swung it backwards. As Austin spun round in surprise, Benoit wrenched the weapon from his grasp and, with a swing any baseball player would have been proud of, slammed it forcefully against the side of the champion. Austin fell against the announce table, but jumped back up quickly, only to have the chair cracked down on his head until he fell senseless to the ground. 

Benoit paused to catch his breath, leaning heavily on the chair, before throwing it down and going to check on his partner. Jericho had somehow managed to struggle into a sitting position on top of the table and was bent forward in pain, his eyes still tightly closed. 

"You okay, man?" Benoit asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

Jericho opened one eye slowly to look at him before answering shakily, "I know I missed our last practice, but DAMN, you could have warned me!" 

"It seems a lack of communication was part of the cause, but through no fault of ours. Just be glad I turned up; if it had been left to Vince, we'd be scraping you off the floor by now." 

"As opposed to peeling me off the table? Much appreciated." groaned Jericho. 

"Come on, lets get out of here. Can you stand?" 

"You mean I'm not already?" mumbled Jericho, clutching his head. 

"Jeez, you gotta give the guy some credit, I dunno how he managed it, but he's scrambled your brains even more than before." smirked Benoit, "Now, come on, get up; you're not doing your argument against the dumb blonde rep any favours." 

"Your sense of timing really sucks, I ain't exactly in the mood for you to turn joker on me now, man." 

"And I've got better things to do than haul your ass about, so get up! You can't have broken any ribs or anything or you wouldn't have been so quick to sit up. Sure it'll hurt like hell, but at least it's not too serious." reassured Benoit. 

"Try telling that to the rest of me." retorted Jericho. 

Hesitantly, he tried to stand, but his knees gave way beneath his weight and he almost fell. Benoit hastily took charge and grabbed his arm, slinging it around his shoulders, before proceeding to half help, half carry Jericho up the ramp. They had reached about midway when Benoit happened to glance around at the crowd, trying to gauge whether or not they suspected anything was wrong. Luckily, the crowd seemed oblivious to the truth behind the situation and Benoit was about to turn away when he caught a glimpse of a face which he thought he recognised. This unexpected surprise caught him off guard and he stopped in his tracks. 

"What's up?" asked Jericho through clenched teeth, "Don't tell me Austin's back on his feet?" 

"What? Uh, no, he won't be getting up for a while yet." said Benoit, obviously distracted, "I just thought ..... It doesn't matter, it's nothing." 

Jericho shrugged and they continued their slow progress away from the ring, although Benoit couldn't help glancing back over his shoulder, but the face seemed to have disappeared. 

***** 


	4. Ch. 4

Ch. 4. 

When they reached the backstage area, they were greeted by Vince and half the WWF roster, who had anxiously been watching the events unfold on the monitors. As soon as the two were out of sight of the crowd and the cameras, Vince moved to meet them, signalling to the waiting paramedics. As they helped Chris Jericho onto the gurney and began wheeling him away, Vince walked beside him. 

"Good job, Chris, you managed to keep the situation under control and the crowd didn't catch on." praised Vince, knowing that the injured man had every right to be angry and hoping to smooth things over. 

"Lucky for both of us," commented Jericho, his voice unusually cold, "Although I don't think I'M the Chris you should be thanking." 

"I just hope you realise, this was an unexpected turn of events which was completely beyond my control ....." 

"Meaning you're scared I'm gonna sue, because I could, as you know only too well. Well, you'll be relieved to hear, I won't, you're not worth the hassle." 

Vince heaved a deep sigh and watched as Jericho was wheeled away, before turning to Chris Benoit. 

"Chris, thanks. I ..... I don't know what else to say." stammered Vince, "I'm sorry this had to happen in your home town, I know you wanted this show to go well. No one is sorrier than me that this happened ....." 

"Somehow I doubt Chris would see it quite like that. What were you thinking? What the hell were you THINKING? How could you let that man in the ring, KNOWING that something was wrong? Because you were right about one thing before, he has snapped, the guy's a goddamn PYSCHO!" exclaimed Benoit, 

"You'd better not forget just who you're talking to, Chris." warned Vince tersely. 

"Oh, I know EXACTLY who I'm talking to." snapped Benoit in return. "Who knows how long this has been going on for? Who knows how long this has been building up, just waiting for something to push him over the edge? Chris is pretty beat up as it is, but what if this had happened when someone else was in the ring? What about when he was supposed to "attack" Amy, suppose he really had?" 

At this, a murmur of agreement ran through the group of listening wrestlers and Amy turned slightly pale as she thought back to the "confrontation" between herself and the Hardys and Austin and Triple H. Realising what she must be thinking, her on and off-screen boyfriend, Matt Hardy, wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders, before turning to Vince. 

"You know, Chris is right! You've been putting us all in danger just by letting that guy be here; it can't go on." he insisted, anger creeping into his usually soft Southern accent. 

"Matt, I realise how distressing this is, for all of us, but I assure you I will NOT let this happen again. Security are going to take Steve straight to the hospital and we're going to get him some professional help, it's obvious there's a deeper problem at the bottom of this and it will be sorted out. In the meantime, the show must go on. I'm sorry, but those people out there have paid good money to see you all at your best, I WON'T have them go away disappointed. I have, however, decided that tomorrow everyone takes a complete break, no training, nothing work related; PROVIDED the rest of tonight goes smoothly." said Vince, back in control, "Now, any complaints, feel free to come see me in my office." 

Vince paused and looked around, as if challenging anyone to argue with him, but safe in the knowledge that they didn't dare in case their job ended up on the line. He noted the obvious hostility in the air, but dismissed it as he searched for someone who was ready to go out to the ring. 

"Sean," he said finally, noticing that he was already dressed in his red and black "X-Pac" outfit, "Can you find, uh, let me see ..... Steve Blackman? The two of you can go out to the ring and put on a match so the crowd doesn't get too restless. Make it a bit of a martial arts display, something to really get them going, okay?" 

"Sure thing; but if I see any signs Blackman's gonna go mad, I ain't sticking around." said Sean, walking casually away after his parting shot, tying his bandanna around his head as he went. 

"Right, everyone." said Vince, pretending not to have heard him, "Back to business as usual, thank you. Chris, you can tell the other Chris what's happening and that as soon as he's done with the EMTs, he can go back to the hotel. In fact, you can go too; Stephanie and Paul aren't here yet, so I'll just ring and tell them not to come at all. Without Steve, your storylines which were planned for tonight are postponed." 

"Can't say I'm not relieved." said Benoit, "I'll go now and see how Chris is doing then - tell him the good news." 

"If you need a lift back to the hotel ....." 

"It's all right, Vince, I've got my rental car." said Benoit, "Wouldn't want to put you to any trouble." 

"Well, then, I guess I'll talk to you later." said Vince, a little uncomfortably. 

"Yeah, later." 

***** 

In the area reserved for the medical team, Chris Jericho was receiving treatment when there came a knock at the door and Chris Benoit looked in. 

"Hey, how are the ribs?" asked Benoit. 

"Sore, but these guys have given me something to help, so if I get some rest, I shouldn't be too stiff tomorrow." 

"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?" 

Jericho groaned loudly, "Wait, don't tell me ..... Vince saw my performance, decided I need more practise and is putting me in a handicapped match tonight against Kane and the Undertaker?" 

"How did you guess?" asked Benoit with a straight face, before starting to laugh as Jericho's eyes widened in horror, "Calm down, I'm kidding!" 

"Twice in one day! Is everyone trying to kill me?" grinned Jericho. 

"Always said you bring out the worst in people." 

"Hey!" complained Jericho, pretending to be hurt, "I'm injured, you're meant to give me, you know, sympathy." 

"Never heard of it." retorted Benoit, "Anyway, you can't be that bad, you're still talking." 

"You really know how to cheer a guy up, Chris. So, what is the news then?" 

"Bad news is ..... Vince has decided it's business as usual, good news is ..... that doesn't apply to us. As soon as you're done here, we can head back to the hotel." explained Benoit. 

"Excellent! Nice to see Vince hasn't COMPLETELY disappeared down the road to Loonyland along with Austin just yet." 

"I'll go change and then get the car and bring it round the back; get these guys to give you a hand outside, okay?" 

"Sure." said Jericho, as his friend turned to go, "Chris, hang on a minute! Look, seriously, I just wanna thank you for coming out and saving my ass. I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd stayed the hell away, everyone else did. Thanks, man, I owe you one." 

Benoit looked at him and grinned, "I just might hold you to that! You should have known I couldn't let you get your ass kicked, I plan on holding on to those title belts and I can't do that with you playing the crippled martyr! And anyway, if I hadn't turned up, someone else would have helped out. The only reason it took so long was Vince's panicking about how it would look to the audience, he wanted to try to stick roughly to the scripts. Under the pressure he was getting from the rest of the roster, he'd have cracked soon." 

"That might not have been the only cracking going on, but thanks." smiled Jericho, "I guess I just felt kinda deserted for a bit, it seemed to last forever out there. Where's Austin now?" 

"Security were escorting him to hospital, he's going to get professional help. I don't think we'll have to worry about him turning up any time soon." 

"Good! Although, if you ask me, it's an exorcist, not a psychiatrist, the guy needs!" 

Benoit laughed and nodded, "You could be right! Anyway, I'll meet you at the car." 

"You bet." 

As soon as the medical team were satisfied that Jericho's injuries were not too serious, they allowed him to leave, helping him out to the back where Benoit was waiting in his black rented car. Before they could get away, however, they were stopped by Vince, who motioned to Benoit to wind down his window. A little reluctantly, Benoit complied and looked impatiently at Vince. 

"What?" he asked shortly. 

"Sorry to keep you, but I haven't been able to contact Stephanie and Paul. They might already be on their way, but if you see them at the hotel, could you tell them not to come and explain the situation to them?" 

"If I see them, I'll tell them." said Benoit. 

"Thank you." said Vince, leaning into the car to speak to Jericho, "I hope you're better tomorrow." 

"Thanks." said Jericho dryly, "Come on, Chris, put your foot down and get us out of here." 

***** 


	5. Ch. 5

Ch. 5. 

Eager to get away from the stadium, Benoit, knowing the city well, sped towards the hotel where all the wrestlers were staying, trying to avoid any unnecessary bumps. As they got further away from the stadium, Jericho began to relax, turning on the radio and leaning back with his eyes closed. Benoit also started to unwind, drumming his fingers on the leather steering wheel in time to the music, looking wistfully at the familiar sights along the way. 

Suddenly he snapped to attention and slammed on the brakes, pitching Jericho forward in his seat with a startled yelp. 

"OWW! Jeez, man, a bit of warning wouldn't go astray!" shouted Jericho in alarm, "Hey! What are you doing?" 

"That's Paul and Steph's Jeep on the other side of the road; hold on!" 

Benoit twisted the steering wheel wildly, swinging the powerful vehicle around in a tight arc to speed after a black Jeep, making Jericho gasp and shut his eyes again. 

"Am I dead?" asked Jericho shakily, opening one eye. 

"You gotta learn to have more faith, man!" came the reply, as they continued to pursue the Jeep. 

"In YOUR driving? You must be joking!" declared Jericho, "I didn't survive Austin's surprise attack just to have you kill me in your rental car, you know!" 

"Don't be such a drama queen!" said Benoit, rolling his eyes as he blared the horn and flashed the lights, trying to get the other driver's attention. 

" If I survive, I'm gonna teach you to drive properly." 

"Ha! Wouldn't that be a case of the blind leading the blind? You drive like you're in a rally car, late for the chequered flag! And anyway, there's nothing wrong with my driving." 

"Yeah, like there's nothing wrong with Austin's mind! And remind me to explain to Paul about speed limits, he doesn't seem to have grasped the concept." 

Finally, the Jeep indicated and pulled over and Jericho heaved a sigh of relief as Benoit followed suit. Benoit noticed the driver's door of the Jeep open and wound down his window, waiting for the person to approach. Expecting the tall and muscular shape of Paul, instantly recognisable as none other than Triple H, he stared in surprise as a slim female figure in black leather trousers and a red top descended. Beside him, Jericho's jaw dropped. 

"Woah! That was STEPH driving?" he gaped. 

"Looks like it. Shh! Here she comes." 

"Hi, guys!" the girl said brightly, "What are you two doing here? Don't tell me Daddy sent a search party? I know we're a little late, but ....." 

"It's not because you're late, Steph." assured Benoit, leaning out his window to look at the traffic speeding past just behind her, "Um, perhaps this isn't the safest place to stop. Just head back to the hotel, we'll explain when we get there." 

"But what about the show?" she said in confusion. 

"It's okay, we're acting on your dad's orders." 

"Well, okay. Talk to you in a bit." 

"See you later, Steph." called Jericho, with a wave, "Nice driving, by the way." 

"And what is THAT supposed to mean, Chris?" she frowned, tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder. 

"Nothing, nothing at all." he smiled innocently. 

Eventually, the two cars pulled up in the hotel car park and they all jumped out; Jericho a little slower than the others and with a bit of help from Benoit. 

"What happened to you?" asked Paul. 

"Long story. Lets get inside before we start explaining anything." answered Jericho, "If I don't sit down soon, I'm gonna FALL down." 

"You were sitting the whole way here!" maintained Benoit. 

"And what a stress-free experience that was!" 

"Oh, give it up! You're here, aren't you?" 

"Uh, guys?" interrupted Steph, "As much fun as it is hearing you two bicker like a married couple, you still owe us an explanation." 

"Yeah, what's the deal?" asked Paul, "Why are we missing the show? Don't we have a big storyline tonight - you two versus me and Steve? 

Benoit and Jericho exchanged a glance before Benoit answered him, "That was the plan ....." 

"..... But it looks like Steve was way ahead of you there." finished Jericho. 

***** 

In order to clear up what had happened, the four congregated in the large room assigned to Chris Jericho, who quickly described the details of the night's unexpected events from where he was lying on his bed trying to rest his injured ribs. 

"So you're saying that he just ..... flipped?" said Paul from the couch, shaking his head in disbelief, "And there was no reason for it?" 

"That's exactly what I'm saying." he answered, folding his arms behind his head. 

"That's terrible; you're lucky you weren't really hurt." said Steph in concern, moving to sit on the edge of his bed, "But, why you?" 

"That's what I want to know!" 

"I still can't believe this has happened!" she exclaimed, "I mean, I know he can be a little, um, aggressive at times, but THIS! This is unbelievable!" 

"You don't need to tell me!" said Jericho emphatically. 

"What we want to know is, what happens now?" said Benoit, "I mean, he's the WWF Champion and involved in major storylines, how can this be covered up like your dad seems to want, Steph?" 

"I really don't know, Chris. What did my dad say?" 

"Not a lot," answered Jericho, without considering who he was talking to, "He seemed more concerned about getting himself off the hook incase I decided to sue." 

Steph bit her lip, looking more than a little uncomfortable, her awkward position suddenly dawning on Jericho. 

"Steph, I'm sorry!" he groaned, "I didn't mean ....." 

"It's okay, honestly." she said simply, "I know how he gets when it comes to the business; you have every right to be angry. Listen, why don't you let me talk to him? I could try to find out what's going to happen." 

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that." 

"I'll go try to call him now, although he's probably tied up at the minute. If I know my dad, the show will have to go on, even without the main event." she paused and then glanced at Benoit, gasping as she remembered something which she had somehow completely forgotten, "Oh no! Chris, I wasn't even thinking! This is your home town, the fans will be SO disappointed if you're not there." 

"I was kinda looking forward to it myself." he confessed ruefully. 

"You know what?" said Steph determinedly, "I'm going to talk to Daddy RIGHT NOW! Maybe we can work something out. I can't promise anything, but I'll try my best." 

"If he doesn't listen to you, I don't know who he will listen to." said Paul, "Anyway, if you're gonna be busy, I'm gonna go hit the gym and get in some extra training. Might as well make the most of the time off." 

"Oh, the whole team's off tomorrow as well." added Benoit, "And for complete relaxation, would you believe? Not even any training allowed." 

"Wow, Dad must be softening in his old age!" giggled Steph on her way out the door, "I'll catch up with you guys later to give you any news." 

"Thanks, Steph!" 

"Yeah, see ya later!" 

"I'll get going too." said Paul, following her, "Take it easy!" 

***** 


	6. Ch. 6

Ch. 6. 

Meanwhile, some of the wrestlers who were scheduled to appear later in the evening were just arriving at the arena and had missed the earlier excitement. Amongst these was Andrew Martin, known to the fans as the ex-member of the tag team, T 'n' A, Test. Wearing street clothes and with his shoulder-length blond hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, he was making his way to his dressing room in order to get ready for his match. Although he was running a little late and was therefore in a hurry, when he spotted an unfamiliar girl who appeared to be lost wandering around, he stopped to see if he could help. 

"Hey there," he smiled, his blue eyes quickly taking in her golden tanned face, the few freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose and her big green eyes, all framed by light blond hair which fell in slight waves to her shoulders. "I couldn't help noticing you look ..... kinda lost - maybe I can help? Are you supposed to be back here? I'm Andrew, by the way." 

The girl tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear nervously and looked up at him. At five feet and eight inches, she hadn't thought of herself as short exactly, but standing beside nearly six and a half feet of the guy she recognised as the wrestler, Test, she had to admit she was a little intimidated. 

"Uh, hi! Yeah, I'm meant to be here, the guy out front said it would be okay. I'm looking for Chris Benoit, do you know where I could find him?" 

"Are you a fan, 'cause then I'm not really supposed to ....." 

"Not really; I mean, I watch the shows, but that's not why I'm here." she said hesitantly, "I'm, uh, a reporter. With this being Chris's home town, there's, uh, a lot of interest at the minute and my boss was keen I'd, um, get an interview." 

"An interview, huh?" said Andrew thoughtfully, taking a second glance at the girl. For some odd reason, which he couldn't quite put his finger on, he wasn't entirely convinced by her explanation for her presence. She just didn't look the reporter type; at least, not the kind he was used to dealing with, the kind who sneaked in and pushed you for a story, then made up the juicy details if they didn't get what they were looking for. However, she didn't look like the crazed stalker type either, which led him to believe her to be a normal fan wanting to meet her favourite star. Somehow though, that didn't quite fit either. Apart from looking a little nervous, she was otherwise calm; not the overexcited, obsessive fan type who went to the trouble of finding their way backstage. 

Realising that she was now looking at him oddly and no wonder, given the fact that he had been studying her without speaking for longer than a casual glance warranted, Andrew decided that Benoit probably wouldn't thank him for turning away a pretty fan and that if he couldn't take care of himself, he was in the wrong profession anyway. 

"Well, I don't suppose Chris would object." he smiled at the girl, before proceeding to direct her to the room in which he supposed she would find Benoit. 

"Thanks, uh, Andrew." she said, seemingly in a hurry to be on her way. 

"Hang on!" he said suddenly, as she started to walk briskly in the direction he had pointed, "I didn't catch your name." 

She called over her shoulder without turning round, her answer only just audible, "It's Shannon." 

The mysterious girl had only just disappeared from view when Andrew spotted one of his friends and fellow wrestlers hurrying towards him, already in his ring attire. He groaned and glanced at his watch, realising that he now had very little time to get ready for his match. 

"Hey, Drew!" came the deep shout from the oncoming figure, "Come on, man; where've you been?" 

"Sorry, Terry, I got side tracked." 

"Oh yeah? You're gonna have to do better than that; Vince is going crazy." 

"There was this girl ....." 

"Okay, I'm listening." grinned Terry, running a hand through his long, dark hair which was still wet from his shower, "But walk while you talk, you still have to change." 

"It's simple really - she looked lost, so being the gentleman I am, I stopped to help." 

"So she was pretty?" asked Terry, rightly suspicious of Andrew's motives. 

"Well, yeah!" confessed Andrew, "But, I guess some guys get all the luck - she was looking for Benoit, so I just gave her directions to the dressing rooms." 

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard yet." 

"Heard what?" 

"During the match between Austin and Jericho, Austin flipped his lid - he went totally mad and started really beating on Jericho ....." 

"WHAT?" exclaimed Andrew, "What happened?" 

"Benoit arrived in time and got things more or less under control and Austin was taken away by the cops. But, what I meant was, your directions won't be any good - both Chrises went back to the hotel, they won't be here tonight. And even if they were there, she won't get that far - Vince has gone for a complete security clamp down." 

"Guess I missed all the excitement. Aww, man! She's gonna think I did that on purpose. She said she was a reporter; if Security catch her, they'll think she was looking for a story on Austin and I don't think that would go down too well." 

"It'll probably be okay, they'll just make her leave. Apparently none of the fans caught on to what was happening, they just thought it was part of the show, so there's no way anything could have been leaked to the press. Anyway, it's too late for you to do anything about it now. This has made Vince real edgy, if you're late there'll be hell to pay. Get a move on, I've got a gore with your name on it!" 

Andrew paused for a second, wondering if he should try to track the girl down to explain, or at least leave a message with Security, but decided he had better not provoke Vince if he was already in a bad mood. Instead, he followed Terry to get ready for his match against him - a Test versus Rhyno Hardcore match which would take all his concentration and make him forget all about the puzzling fan, Shannon. 

***** 


	7. Ch. 7

Ch. 7. 

Whilst the show continued without them, Benoit and Jericho were relaxing in their respective hotel rooms, each trying to forget about what they were missing out on at the arena. Benoit had decided to watch television in his own room to give Jericho a chance to get some sleep and recover from his ordeal. Although the television was on, Benoit was merely creating the illusion of watching it. In reality, he was staring into space, glad of the opportunity to think over some things which, although usually pushed to the back of his mind, had been bothering him recently. It was doubtful whether he could even name the main characters of the old black and white film which he was seemingly so engrossed in, never mind outline the basic plot. 

Suddenly, his train of thought was interrupted by the surprisingly loud ringing of his cell phone. He reached for his jacket and pulled out the phone, answering it quickly. 

"Hello?" 

"Hi, Chris! It's Steph." came the answer from the other end of the line, "How's the invalid?" 

"Sleeping it off." he replied, "How's the show going?" 

"Not bad, considering. Still don't know what's happening with the main event though, we might have to call the old Hardyz versus Edge and Christian rivalry into play. The guys are up for a Ladder match, but nothing's final yet - talk about last minute decisions!" 

"Sounds like you guys are busy." 

"Yeah, one of those "all hands on deck" kinda things." she said, sounding hopeful. 

"If you need me to come back down there, I can." offered Chris, smiling as he took her less than subtle hint. 

"I was hoping you would say that!" Steph admitted, "Dad was thinking it might look a bit suspicious if you and Chris and Paul and Austin disappear without mention after that brawl, so we were thinking about a match between you and Paul. We could run up a quick script, just enough to offer an explanation; what do you think?" 

"I'm game - no, wait, that's Paul! I think you'd better do that script!" joked Chris, "It would be a shame to miss getting a match here though." 

"I know the crowd would love it, but I've spoken to Daddy and it looks like you'll be getting plenty more chances to see your home fans anyway." 

"How do you mean, Steph?" 

"This thing with Austin is going to take a lot of sorting out; the police and the medics are all involved now and ultimately, he's the company's responsibility. It looks like we'll be staying here for a few weeks now instead of a few days, so there'll be more shows, publicity campaigns, autograph signings, and a lot of stuff like that. Dad's determined the time won't go to waste." 

"So, in a few weeks Austin's being allowed back?" asked Chris incredulously, "Just like that, as if nothing happened?" 

"I honestly don't know, Chris. The company can't just abandon him; we're going to have to see how his treatment goes before making any decisions, that's why we have to stick around." explained Steph, not sounding entirely happy with the situation herself, "I don't like what he did either, but if he's sick ..... I guess there's not much we can do." 

"SICK! Makes him sound like he's got 'flu - the guy's crazy!" grumbled Chris, "Yeah, yeah, I know there's nothing we can do, so I needn't waste my time complaining. So, you want me to come down there?" 

"If you don't mind, it would really help us out." 

"I'll just let Chris know and then, I'm on my way." 

"Thanks, Chris." 

"No problem, Steph." said Chris, ending the call before putting his jacket on and stuffing the phone back in his pocket. He went to the hotel phone beside his bed and dialled the internal code, followed by the number of Jericho's room and waited for him to answer. When no one answered after several rings, he gave up and reached for the pad of hotel stationary and a pen, scribbling a quick note to explain where he was going. Grabbing his sports bag, he quickly made his way downstairs, slipping the note under Jericho's door on the way. Hoping he had delivered the message to the right room, he got into his rental car and headed back to the arena. 

***** 

Even as Benoit was arriving at the arena, Jericho was waking up in his hotel room, wondering where he was and why he wasn't at the show. Thanks to a sudden pain in his ribs when he moved to get up, he remembered what had happened and sank back down on the bed with a groan. Trying to find a way to keep the pain to a minimum, he closed his eyes and tried to drift back to sleep, but it soon became apparent that he was wasting his time. 

"Well, this is fun." he complained to himself, "I could be at the show with the guys, but no, thanks to that jackass, I get to stay here by myself, bored out of my mind!" 

Just as he was beginning to feel sorry for himself, a phone rang loudly. 

"Great." he muttered, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he struggled back into a sitting position to answer it. "Hello?" he asked, speaking into the hotel phone, but getting no reply, "Hello? HELLO?" 

At the same moment in which he discovered there was no one on the other end of the line, he also became aware that he could still hear the ringing, "Just don't let that be in my head." he begged, looking round the room in confusion before realisation hit and he leapt from the bed, "Cell phone! OWW! Dammit, gotta stop doing that!" 

He retrieved his jacket from where he had thrown it over the back of the couch and finally answered the call, "Hello?" 

"Hey, Chris, it's Nora. What took ya so long? Oh, golly, ya weren't asleep, were ya? Did I go an' wake ya?" came the voice from the other end, tinged with concern. 

"Nah, I just ..... couldn't find my phone." lied Chris, feeling a little embarrassed. 

"Oh. Well, I just wanted to find out how ya were holding up." 

"I'll be fine, I'm just a little sore. So, do you have a match tonight?" 

"Yep! A Hollys versus Dudleys war, three on three. I ..... hang on, Chris." she said, suddenly breaking off mid-sentence, "Chris? 'Kay, I'm back. Sorry 'bout that, some of the guys are here. Matt and Jeff say "hi"." 

"Tell them all "hi"." smiled Chris, "Uh, Nora? You still there?" 

Chris listened carefully and could just make out Nora's voice in the distance. 

"Andrew Martin, ya better give that cell back!" she was squealing, "Gee, that just isn't fair, y'all!" 

Chris tried to stifle a chuckle at what he could only imagine all too well. Andrew would have grabbed the cell phone from Nora and would now be holding it above his head, placing it a good two feet out of Nora's reach. She would be standing in front of him, hands on her hips and her head on one side, admonishing him to no avail. Hearing a deeper voice which he recognised as Andrew's, Chris listened again. 

"Aw, come on, Nor - don't get your pigtails in a knot! I'll give it back, I just need to speak to Chris." came his voice, followed by a short burst of laughter, "What? Was that supposed to hurt or something? OW! Hey, watch it!" 

"Hey, Drew, you getting beat up by Nora there, buddy?" called Chris into the phone. 

"Nah, she loves me really - ain't that right, Nora? OW! Hmm, maybe not. So, Chris ..... how are you, man?" asked Andrew, seeming to finally gain control of the phone. 

"Well, I've been better, but I suppose I could be a lot worse." 

"So I heard. I can't believe no one realised something was seriously wrong sooner. It's scary to think how long this must have been building up; it could have happened to any one of us." 

"Guess I was just lucky, huh?" said Chris with a wry laugh. 

"Yeah, something like that." said Andrew, "By the way, just while I remember, is Benoit there?" 

"I think he's in his own room." said Chris, before his eye caught sight of a piece of paper lying half under his door, "Hang on a minute, I think I've got a message - maybe it's from Chris." 

He set the receiver down on the bed and went to retrieve the note, taking care not to jolt his ribs. He read the short note to himself and grinned, shaking his head before picking up the phone again. 

"Drew? I'm back. Chris left a note, he's gone back to the arena, he's probably there now." said Chris, "Does that guy never stop?" 

"Typical, the guy just can't keep away from his work! Wait a minute, I actually think I see him now." 

As Chris waited impatiently, there was a long period of silence on the other end of the line before he could make out shuffling and murmuring in the background. 

"What's going on?" he asked repeatedly, getting no answer, "Hello? Is anyone still there?" 

"Sorry, Chris." apologised Andrew eventually, in what he considered to be a whisper, "He is here, but he's not alone." 

"Well, duh! You guys are there." said Chris in confusion, "And why are you talking so quietly?" 

"Idiot! That's not what I meant - just how hard were those knocks to your head? He's with a GIRL!" explained Andrew. 

"Really!" exclaimed Chris, perking up a little, "Who?" 

"How would I know?" said Andrew, suddenly breaking off, "Hey, I recognise her! Looks like she's gonna get her story after all." 

"What are you talking about? Damn, I wish I was there - if I see Austin any time soon, I'm gonna kill him!" 

"I met this girl earlier who said she was a reporter looking for Benoit; and that's who he's talking to now." 

"So? We talk to loads of reporters." said Chris, losing interest slightly. 

"Not ones who look like this we don't; I know I don't anyway. And I don't believe she is a reporter. Uh oh, we were nearly spotted then. Chris, I'm gonna have to go. Nora's threatening to rat on us to Benoit for watching him if I don't give back her phone. I'll talk to you at the hotel later, okay." 

"Okay. Try to find out if this girl's just a reporter; even if she is, it'll be something to wind Chris up about - his mystery woman!" laughed Chris, "See you later." 

Chris hung up the phone and lay back on his bed. He wasn't used to being so inactive; even when his matches were finished, he liked hanging around backstage at the arena with the rest of the guys. He hoped that their return would relieve the extreme boredom he was suffering, having been cooped up in his hotel room by himself. He folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling, plotting how he would wind up Benoit about the stranger he had been seen with and grinned to himself. Knowing Benoit, he expected it to be all too easy. 

***** 


	8. Ch. 8

Ch. 8. 

After he left the hotel, Chris Benoit made his way back to the arena and went in search of Stephanie or Vince to find out what they wanted him to do. He didn't mind having to return as he would have been there anyway, if it hadn't been for Austin. Since the show was taking place in his home town and the fans expected him to be there, Chris would have felt bad if he had been forced to miss the show completely. He didn't count his unscheduled appearance and was keen to be in a proper match. 

As he was considering this while wandering around back stage, he turned a corner and walked straight into someone who was also paying very little attention to their surroundings 

"Sorry." apologised Chris automatically, still not really paying attention. He stooped to pick up a notebook and several loose sheets of paper which he had knocked out of the other person's hands. 

"Aren't you even going to say hello?" asked the person, in a familiar female voice which rooted Chris to the spot. 

Standing up slowly, his back to the person, he tried to argue with his first instincts. "It couldn't be ..... it's just coincidence." he thought to himself as he turned round. 

However, what he saw shattered any assurances his mind tried to make and the colour drained from his face. 

"Shannon!" he gasped. 

"No kidding, Sherlock! Hey, Chris, how've you been?" she said calmly. 

"I ..... I ..... good." he stammered weakly. 

"Really? You don't look too good now. In fact, you look like you've seen a ghost!" 

Trying to get back in control of the situation, Chris took a deep breath which enabled him to answer in more or less his normal voice, "Well, I guess you could say that's not too far from the truth. I can't believe you're here." 

"What? In Edmonton, the place I LIVE? C'mon, Chris, I'm not the one who left - I'M the one who's supposed to be here, remember?" she said, her seeming confidence crumbling a little. 

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Why are you HERE, at the arena?" he asked. 

"We all gotta move on; I'm a reporter now, sent by my oh-so-caring boss to do the groundwork for a story on you guys. He actually wants an interview with you personally- how ironic is that?" she said, faltering a little as she continued, "Plus, if I'm honest, I gotta admit I was a little curious. I mean, I've seen you on television, but it's not the same; we haven't spoken in years." 

"I thought that was how you wanted it." Chris said quietly, looking away from her accusing gaze. 

"So did I, but I think my "it's for the best" theory was flawed." 

Chris glanced at his watch and wondered how urgently he was needed. Deciding that they would cope without him, for a while anyway, he made up his mind. "Listen, Shannon, do you wanna go get a coffee or something? I think we should talk." 

Looking slightly uneasy, Shannon glanced over her shoulder as if looking for someone and shook her head. "I really shouldn't ....." 

"I thought you needed an interview anyway?" 

"Well, yeah, but I've been looking for you for hours. I have to go now." 

"So it WAS you I saw earlier!" clarified Chris, "I thought it was, but then I told myself I was imagining things." 

"When did you see me?" demanded Shannon in surprise. 

"When I came out to ringside earlier, you were in the crowd." he explained. 

"And you managed to pick me out of all those people?" she said sceptically, although a little taken aback. 

"What can I say? Guess you must have caught my eye." he said softly, "So when do we do this interview then?" 

"I ..... I don't know ....." she said. 

"I've got tomorrow completely free, how about meeting me somewhere?" 

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" 

"Well, I don't see how you're going to get your interview if I'm not there!" Chris grinned, teasing her, "We could go to the park, like the old days." 

Shannon was about to protest, on the grounds that "the old days" were probably better left just there, in the past, when she heard someone calling her name and turned round to see who it was. 

"Oh no!" she murmured, too quietly for Chris to hear, as a guy jogged up to them. 

Chris looked on with interest as the new arrival tried to get his breath back. 

"Shannon, I've been looking everywhere for you. Wow! You're Chris Benoit! I didn't think she'd actually manage to meet you!" he panted, "I'm a big WWF fan." 

"Oh," said Chris in amusement, looking to Shannon for an explanation. However, she looked down at the ground and refused to meet his gaze. Puzzled by her strange behaviour, he turned back to the guy, "You're a reporter too, are you?" 

"Who, me? Hell no! I'm Billy, Shannon's boyfriend." he replied. 

"Ah, of course." Chris said tersely, with a tight smile as he directed a questioning look towards Shannon, who had lifted her head hesitantly to look at him. 

"I saw you out there earlier, that was so cool! It looked so REAL - a lot of preparation must have gone into that." said Billy enthusiastically, totally oblivious to both his girlfriend's discomfort and Chris's hostility, which were equally obvious. 

"Less than you'd think." said Chris wryly, "Well, nice meeting you both, but I've got to go now. Shannon, if you want that interview - tomorrow." 

He nodded curtly at them both and hurried away before anyone had the chance to speak. 

"He seems all right." commented Billy, "Must have been in a hurry though." 

Shannon sighed and started to head for the exit, "I thought you were going to wait in the car." 

"Well, if that was what you wanted, you should have thought about that before you disappeared for hours." snapped Billy as he followed her, his defences rising as soon as he thought he was being criticised, "All that and you didn't even get the damn interview!" 

"Sorry! Look, lets not argue about it now, lets just go." said Shannon, as she led the way through the car park, eager to avoid any rows. 

As they pulled out of the car park, with Billy behind the wheel, Shannon stared out of the window at the rapidly disappearing arena. She almost wished that she hadn't bothered going. She could have made some excuse to her boss and had the assignment given to someone else, ANYONE else. She should have known that it would only cause problems and she didn't even have an interview to show for her trouble. Yet, part of her knew that it was something she had to do; she had to see him in person. She had thought it would clear everything up in her own mind, little had she known it would only serve to make her more confused. Now, she was going to have to decide whether or not she would meet him - she did need that interview, but was it likely to come at a high price. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, suspecting that if she didn't have a headache yet, she was definitely in for one soon. 

***** 


	9. Ch. 9

Ch. 9. 

Much to the relief of Vince McMahon, the rest of his show ran relatively smoothly, in spite of the earlier excitement. He was therefore able to keep his word and give his wrestlers the following day off. They left the arena happily and headed back to the hotel, longing to relax after a stress filled day. 

Chris Benoit was amongst those who were definitely glad to be back at the hotel. It had been an exceptionally long day for him and he just wanted to forget about it. He made his way to his hotel room, turning down invites to hit the bar on the way, in favour of a quiet night by himself. He needed time to think; something he seemed to have been doing a lot of lately. However, he had no sooner sank down on the couch than there came a loud knock on his door. Chris groaned and was considering pretending he wasn't in, when the person tried the door and, finding it unlocked, threw it open. 

"Hey, man!" said Chris Jericho cheerfully, as he vaulted over the back of the couch and landed beside him, settling himself comfortably. "You know, you really should lock that - ANYONE could just wander in. You're lucky it's only me." 

"Yeah, lucky." sighed Benoit, "So, how come you're jumping about the place? Didn't that just hurt your ribs?" 

"Not really - but I won't be doing it again any time soon!" he grinned, "I rested and now I'm a lot better. So, what have you been up to in my absence?" 

"Nothing." answered Benoit shortly. 

"Nothing at all? There's nothing you wanna tell me?" 

"Should there be?" 

"Oh, I dunno." said Jericho, quickly deciding to abandon the subtle approach in favour of a more direct method of questioning, "Maybe something like, say, who the chick you were talking to is?" 

"What chick?" 

"Don't give me that! Are you trying to tell me you're talking to so many pretty girls you don't even remember them now? Besides, Drew met her and then he saw you with her; she said she was a reporter, but he didn't believe her ....." 

"She is a reporter ....." insisted Benoit. 

"Well, maybe so, but there has to be more to it than that." 

"She's a fan too?" tried Benoit, hoping Jericho would leave it at that, but knowing better than to expect miracles. 

"Nah, try again." laughed Jericho, "Man, you are crap at lying!" 

"Some would consider that a virtue." he replied dryly. 

"Not me! Now, c'mon, you've got me really curious!" 

"Her name's Shannon." Benoit said reluctantly. 

"Shannon, huh?" said Jericho, sensing a story if he could just get Benoit to open up. He knew that he had always been a little reserved. His self-assurance in the ring translated to a quieter confidence outside it; however, his friendship with the extroverted Jericho had noticeably changed that. Now although, he seemed to have regressed slightly. "This is like getting blood out of a stone!" complained Jericho, "Who is she exactly? How do you know her? C'mon, man, spill! You can tell me - we're meant to be friends! You know, buddies, pals, amigos, compadres ....." 

"Okay, okay!" Benoit practically yelled, "I get it! Jeez, friendship is SO overrated!" 

"Yeah, yeah, Junior." smirked Jericho triumphantly, "I KNEW I'd wear you down! Now, get on with the story." 

"Remind me why I hang out with you again?" 

"You KNOW you like me!" said Jericho confidently. 

"I TOLERATE you, there's a difference." mocked Benoit unconvincingly, "But, since you're going to make my life a living hell otherwise, I might as well just tell you." He took a deep breath, "Okay, where to start? Uh, I've known Shannon for years, practically all my life, she's an old, uh, friend ....." 

"Ahhhh." said Jericho knowingly, with an exasperating smile. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"I'm guessing that by old FRIEND, you really mean old FLAME - there's a difference." informed Jericho, throwing Benoit's own words back at him. 

"Dammit, Chris, sometimes you're just too insightful for your own good, you know that?" 

"Yeah, but I'm right, aren't I?" 

"Yes! Yes, you're right, okay?" groaned Benoit. 

"Knew it!" said Jericho smugly. 

"Are you gonna let me finish? You're the one who wanted to hear this." 

"Go ahead, give me all the gory details, knock yourself out ....." 

"I'll knock YOU out in a minute! Okay, we were neighbours, our parents were friends, and I suppose it was just inevitable that we became best friends. There were a few years between us, but it never mattered ....." 

"Hmmm, corrupting young innocents, huh?" grinned Jericho evilly, "Sounds fun!" 

"Chris?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Shut the hell up!" 

"Hey, no fair! That's MY line!" protested Jericho, making Benoit laugh at his look of mock outrage. 

"Well, don't interrupt me again, Blondie, or I'll kick your ass!" threatened Benoit. 

"In your dreams!" crowed Jericho, prompting Benoit's own "Prove me wrong" catchphrase. "Okay, I won't interrupt again. Tell your story." 

"Well, there isn't actually a lot to tell. We started going out in high school, something which really didn't please Shannon's dad. He was fine about us being friends, but, lets just say, the guy he thinks is good enough for his baby girl hasn't been born yet! He didn't exactly make things easy, but we went out for over a year ....." 

"A YEAR! God, in high school terms, you guys were practically MARRIED!" declared Jericho, without heeding Benoit's warning against interrupting, "So what happened?" 

Benoit fell silent, leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed. There was a long pause during which Jericho wisely remained silent. Looking thoughtfully at his friend, something told him this was bothering Benoit and, despite appearances to the contrary, Jericho knew when not to push him too far. However, curiosity was beginning to get to him and he knew he had to speak out. 

"Don't even think about it!" said Benoit suddenly, opening one eye to look at him, making Jericho hastily swallow his question. "I'll tell you what happened. THIS happened, that's what. I got my chance to train with the best, travel the world, maybe eventually get a contract with the WWF. And I took it. I left." 

"She didn't understand, huh?" commiserated Jericho. 

"Oh no, she understood all right. It was actually Shannon who convinced me to go; she said she didn't want me to miss out, to give up on my dream, because of her. I think that only made it harder though. If she'd been mad, I could have been mad right back, but she ..... understood. At first I thought she was telling me to go to test me, to see if I would. But, I finally saw she wasn't. No ulterior motives, she just wanted me to be happy." 

"How come you didn't stay in touch? I mean, if she wasn't angry, you can't have parted on bad terms." 

"We didn't, but we agreed we wouldn't stay in touch. A clean break seemed like a good idea at the time - what can I say? We were young. Still, that's one decision I've always regretted." admitted Benoit. 

"What about leaving? Do you regret that?" asked Jericho. 

"Yes. No. I don't know." he sighed, "Look at what I got out of it, I couldn't say I didn't benefit from leaving. But on the other hand, look at what I missed out on. Who's to say I couldn't have achieved the same things if I hadn't left then. It might have taken longer, but I could have still done it." 

"You would have had to leave eventually." 

"Yeah, but who knows what would have happened by then. Oh, there's no point in "what ifs" now. It's over and done with, you can't turn back the clock." 

"I'm sorry, man. It must be tough, especially being here." sympathised Jericho. 

Benoit nodded his agreement. "I know I've never mentioned her, but I have thought about her - I still do, even after all this time. And being here, it's really brought back some memories." 

"Still," said Jericho, trying to cheer his friend up, "You've seen her again, maybe there's still hope." 

"I don't think so. I couldn't come back and expect things to be the same, and they're not. I also met Billy." said Benoit, the disdain evident in his voice. "Her boyfriend. I don't like him." 

"Why doesn't that surprise me? He probably isn't your biggest fan either." laughed Jericho. 

"You'd think, wouldn't you? He is a fan, but he doesn't know about me and Shannon, so that probably explains that." said Benoit, suddenly starting to laugh. "Unbelievable, isn't it? And, as if that wasn't enough, Shannon needs an interview - with me. That's why she was at the arena in the first place. I'm supposed to meet her tomorrow, but I'm not sure she'll show." 

"And what would Billy say about this little rendezvous?" 

"I don't know and, quite frankly, I don't give a damn." said Benoit easily. 

Jericho took a deep breath and stood up, announcing in a take-charge voice, "Right, no more moping about here. Lets go." 

"Go where?" 

"The bar, to get really wrecked. It'll solve all your problems." persuaded Jericho. 

"Yeah? But for how long?" frowned Benoit sensibly. 

"Until approximately eleven o'clock tomorrow morning when you'll wake up with a killer headache and the same problems you had before. But until then - Problems? What problems?" 

Benoit considered for a moment, before following Jericho's lead. "Sounds fair." 

***** 


	10. Ch. 10

Ch. 10 

Next morning, Shannon still hadn't decided whether or not she was going to go to her supposed interview. She had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep as she was worrying about what to do. All though not normally a particularly early riser, at seven o'clock, she had given up on any attempts at sleep and crawled out of bed. 

"This is ridiculous!" she glared at herself in the mirror, "It's no big deal, why get so wound up? I've interviewed people before, why should this be any different?" She sighed; she knew exactly why it should, and would, be different. "God, it shows how little sleep I got - I need a shower." 

She took a long, hot shower and as the needles of water drummed on her back, she found herself wishing her confusion could be washed down the drain as easily as the soap suds. Having finally stepped out of the shower, feeling a little more refreshed, she struggled to find something to wear. 

"Not too dressed up." she muttered to herself as she held clothes in front of her, inspecting her reflection in the mirror critically, "Don't want to make it look like it's a big deal. But not too casual, it's work - an interview, not a chat. Argh, I so do not need this right now. Okay, next thing that comes out of this wardrobe, that's what I'll wear ....." she announced, reaching for a hanger. She gulped and raised her eyebrows at the short, red dress which greeted her and shook her head hastily. "On second thoughts ....." 

Finally, having decided on a pair of black trousers and a red shirt, she was just finishing drying her hair when there came a knock at the door. 

"Just give me a second!" she called, jumping up and hurrying to the door. "Hey, Paige, come on in." 

"How are you?" asked her friend from work, stepping through the door. 

"Um, been better. Do you have time for a coffee?" Shannon asked. 

"Sure." answered Paige, "I'm on my way into the office, but I was running early for once, so I thought I'd drop by. Did you get that interview yesterday?" 

"No. I'm going to meet him today actually." 

"Not keeping you, am I?" winked Paige, who knew the whole story as Shannon had confided in her when she had first been given the assignment. 

"It's not like that! It ISN'T!" protested Shannon, "Stop looking at me like that!" 

"C'mon, Shan! Your star wrestler boyfriend turns up after all this time and you go to pieces - what am I supposed to think?" 

"EX." stressed Shannon, banging the mugs of coffee down on the breakfast bar, "My EX-boyfriend. And I have NOT gone to pieces, for your information!" 

"No, you're not edgy or anything." said Paige sarcastically, "Oh, don't be like that, I'm just winding you up. But you have to admit, you are a bit uptight about this." 

"Well, it's awkward." she said, dropping onto one of the tall stools. 

" I know you and I know it's more than that - what's wrong?" her friend asked in concern. 

Shannon studied the contents of her mug intently, without speaking, before finally turning to Paige. "I know what you think ....." 

"Hang on, Shannon, don't let my kidding around get to you." came the alarmed response, "I really was only joking, I know you're happy with Billy." 

"But am I?" asked Shannon hesitantly. 

"What are you saying? Do you still ..... you know?" 

"I don't know, I really don't. I thought I was happy; Billy isn't perfect, but I thought I was happy. But now ..... Maybe you were right, even if you thought you were only joking, maybe he's NOT the one I want." blurted out Shannon. 

"You really need to think about this." warned Paige anxiously, "I've known Billy a lot longer than you have and I just think you should be careful; if he even SUSPECTED you were messing him about ....." 

"I'm NOT! I wouldn't do that, Paige!" exclaimed Shannon indignantly. 

"Just remember, Chris will be leaving soon, then where will you be? Still here, that's where!" 

"I know that and I'm not planning on doing anything. Even if Billy isn't the one I want, I never said Chris was; I'm just going to go and do the interview and then it'll be over." said Shannon in resignation. 

"You seem disappointed." 

"Well, I'm not!" she snapped, instantly regretting it, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't take this out on you. I know you're only trying to help. Look, it's going to be okay after today. Billy has nothing to worry about and he doesn't even know about Chris anyway." 

"Uh, Shannon?" said Paige, playing nervously with a lock of her dark curly hair, suddenly looking guilty, "He does know." 

"What!" she shrieked, "How the hell does HE know?" 

"I sort of ..... told him ....." 

"WHY? Why would you do that?" demanded Shannon angrily. 

"I'm so sorry, I thought he knew and I don't know how it came up ...... I'm so sorry. Please, don't be mad at me." pleaded Paige. 

"I don't believe this!" fumed Shannon, pacing up and down in a panic. 

"But it'll be okay. There's nothing going on, so he'll have no reason to be upset. There's nothing to worry about, right?" 

"Wrong! He'll wonder why I didn't tell him if there's nothing going on; not that there is, but HE won't see it like that ......" 

She broke off to answer her ringing cell phone. "Billy! Hi!" she said, forcing herself to keep her tone light while shooting a stricken glare at Paige. "Yes, I'm going to do the interview today ..... What do you mean - you don't want me to? ..... But ..... But it's WORK, I can't get out of it ..... Don't be stupid! ..... No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, I wasn't calling YOU stupid. I just meant ..... Billy, don't be like that! Yes, I'm still going to do it ..... You don't have to shout! ..... FINE! Think what you want!" She ended the call and, leaning her elbows on the top of the breakfast bar, buried her face in her hands. 

"Shannon?" asked Paige softly, "God, this is all my fault!" 

"No, it isn't." said Shannon in a teary voice, "Him knowing shouldn't matter, 'cause there's nothing going on! He doesn't trust me and right now, I don't even think I can trust myself!" 

"It'll work out," Paige tried to reassure her, putting an arm around her shoulders, "These things always do. You know nothing's going on and that's all that counts." 

"But what about Billy?" 

"Billy will have to learn he isn't always right." 

"Well, he'll see that when I get this damn interview over and done with." said Shannon grimly. 

"You're still going?" 

"Yeah, I'm not going to let him stop me from doing my job. I thought you said ....." 

"I know what I said, but I meant you should try to convince Billy he's wrong. Somehow, I don't think this meeting will do anything for your case." said Paige. 

Shannon narrowed her eyes, "This is my JOB, I'm not doing anything WRONG. I need to do this." 

"For God's sake, Shannon, why? Why do you NEED to do this?" exploded Paige impatiently. 

"To prove I can." she answered fervently, "This isn't about Billy, or even Chris, this is about ME. This job is the first one I've had that has meant anything to me, this is something I love doing, and I got it because of my dad. I want to know I deserve it, but if I can't even get a simple interview without this kind of trauma, what does that say about me?" 

"It doesn't say anything. You said yourself that it's awkward. Look, a lot of old feelings have been stirred up, this won't happen with every interview. At least, not unless you've got a lot more famous ex-boyfriends you've neglected to mention!" said Paige with a small grin. 

"I'm a reporter and feelings aren't supposed to get in the way of that." said Shannon grimly, ignoring Paige's joke. 

"I thought you didn't HAVE feelings for him." pointed out Paige. 

"And can you at least keep your arguments consistent? You just said it was understandable that old feelings would be stirred up!" 

"I meant that you would remember them! Shannon, I really think you're asking for trouble if you go ....." 

"Objection noted and duly ignored. I'm going; I have to get my interview and if seeing Chris sorts out the confusion in my head, that's even better. Maybe if I talk to him properly, I can finally put this behind me." stated Shannon stubbornly. 

"I think deep down you know it won't be that easy. Just don't say I didn't warn you, you're playing with fire here." 

"Spare me the melodrama, Paige, I can do without. Now, if you've finished your coffee, I've gotta get going. I've got some people to see about other articles before I meet Chris." 

"What time are you meeting him?" asked Paige, making her way to the door. 

"I don't actually know, we didn't get the chance to agree a time. I'm just gonna take a walk around the park 'til he shows up. It'll give me a chance to clear my head." 

"Well, I hope you know what you're doing - good luck!" 

"Thanks. And Paige? I'm sorry about being such a bitch about this, I promise I'll sort it out." apologised Shannon. 

"I hope you do, but don't worry about it." smiled Paige, pulling her into a quick hug, "Listen, I'll see you later, okay?" 

"Okay, bye." said Shannon as she closed the door after her, leaning back against the wall with a sigh. 

***** 


	11. Ch. 11

Ch. 11. 

That same morning, Chris Benoit didn't get up quite as promptly as his prospective interviewer. At half past ten, he awoke and was instantly given the impression that there was an orchestra of jackhammers in mid-concert in his head. He squeezed his eyes tightly closed and buried his head under his pillow. 

"Why the hell did I listen to Chris? I should know better by now!" he groaned. 

It wasn't for another hour that he even attempted to get up, when he finally remembered about his meeting with Shannon. 

"It's not as if she's gonna show." he argued with himself, "I could just lie here ....." 

Nevertheless, he struggled out of bed and into the shower, where he stayed until he felt vaguely human again. Still feeling pretty rough, he shaved and dressed, deciding as he did so that coffee was definitely high on his list of priorities, second only to aspirin. Grabbing his jacket, he headed out of his room in the hope that he would run into someone who would have painkillers handy, feeling thankful he and Shannon hadn't decided on a specific time for this meeting. 

"Hey, Chris!" came a cheerful voice, making him start. 

"Oh, hey, Amy!" he managed, with a smile which was more of a grimace for the lively redhead. 

"You feeling all right?" she smirked at him. 

"Not really, now you mention it." 

"I'd be surprised if you were! I saw you guys last night, you were still in the bar when we left. What time did you leave?" she asked. 

"To be honest, I don't even remember." he admitted. 

"Yep, that sounds like a night out with Y2J!" she laughed, "You want some painkillers?" 

"Hell, yeah!" he exclaimed, with as much energy as he could muster, "Please tell me you've got some; that wasn't just false hope, was it?" 

"Come on, I'll get you some." she said sympathetically, "And some coffee, it'll stop you looking like death warmed up!" 

"But will it stop me feeling like roadkill?" he mumbled, following her. 

"Sorry, I don't do miracles!" 

***** 

Fifteen minutes later, Amy's strong, black coffee at least had taken effect and Chris had thanked her profusely before heading on his way. By the time he reached the park, he felt a little better and began to concentrate on finding Shannon. Eventually, he spotted a lone figure sitting on a bench in a secluded area. Although he couldn't see the girl's face, he knew instinctively that it was Shannon. For a moment, he remained where he was, content just to watch her and unwilling to intrude on her solitude. 

# /It's been a while since I could hold my head up high/ And it's been a while since I first saw you/ And it's been a while since I could stand on my own two feet again/ And it's been a while since I could call you/ # 

A little nervously, he made his way up to her and cleared his throat to get her attention. 

"Uh, Shannon?" he said, "Hope you haven't been waiting long?" 

"It's okay, we didn't set a time." she said, almost shyly. "Hi, Chris. Please, sit down." 

He sat down beside her, both of them staring uncomfortably across the small lake in front of them. "So ....." he began, at exactly the same moment as Shannon, "Sorry, you go first." 

"Um, I was just going to ask if you wanted to get started." she said, "What were you going to say?" 

"It wasn't important." he replied, "Lets just do this interview." 

***** 


	12. Ch. 12

Ch. 12. 

Shannon began asking her standard questions in a slightly shakier voice than usual, avoiding eye contact, while her tiny tape recorder registered the answers. Although he appeared to be concentrating on answering the questions, Chris was noting Shannon's uneasiness and he eventually broke off in the middle of a response. 

"How did we let this happen?" he sighed thoughtfully. 

"What?" 

"THIS," he said, gesturing vaguely with his hands, "We used to be able to talk about anything. Now ..... now we're like strangers trying to make polite conversation, instead of two people who were, at the very least, FRIENDS, once upon a time." 

"Once upon a time." repeated Shannon, nodding, "That just about says it all - our meeting up after all this time, it is a bit like a fairytale. Or maybe a movie." 

"Ah, still the movie fanatic then." smiled Chris, remembering the endless trips to the cinema which they had taken at Shannon's command; not that he had really minded, in spite of his protests at the time. "Okay, so if this was a movie, how would it end?" 

"Maybe we should stick to doing the interview?" she suggested nervously. 

"Oh, come on. I answered your questions, you answer one of mine." 

She turned off her tape recorder and considered for a moment, her head on one side, staring into space as if she expected a vision of the future to appear in front of her. "I don't know." she confessed after a few moments thought, "This is one plot that's got me beat. It's like the crew are trying their best, but even the script writer doesn't know where the story's going and the director's resorted to drinking and that leaves the actors with their hands full just trying to keep up, never mind trying to see where everything's going to end up! 

"Huh? Shan, are you okay?" asked Chris, astonished and more than a little confused by this bewildering outburst. 

Shannon just laughed a little bitterly, getting up from the bench and pacing in front of him, "Okay? I don't even know what that is anymore! Oh, don't pay any attention to me rambling! It's just been a long day." 

"It's only one o'clock." 

"Well, it's been a long MORNING then." 

Chris remained sitting on the bench while Shannon just stood with her back to him, an awkward silence falling over them. He ran a hand over his hair and started to think that this wasn't such a good idea. He didn't know how he could have expected anything else, but it was evident that something was bothering Shannon and he hated to think that he was at the root of the problem. Just as he was about to get up to leave, Shannon spoke without turning round. 

"There's only one outcome that I can see. Wouldn't make much of a movie though." 

"I dunno about that. With the right soundtrack, a few arty shots and a catchy title, we could be on to a winner!" he quipped before reverting to seriousness, "What is this outcome?" 

"Before you leave and I get on with things here, we agree to put the past behind us, have a few stilted conversations and just try to kid ourselves that things can go back to how they were at the very start ...." 

"The very start? You want me to kidnap your Barbie and set fire to her hair?" smirked Chris, unable to resist the opportunity to tease her again and hopefully lighten the mood. 

Shannon laughed in spite of herself and shot him a mock glare over her shoulder, "Very funny! Try it and I'll make you cry again!" 

"Oh, that's hardly fair, I had good reason!" 

"I only PUSHED you. Cry-baby!" 

"Yeah, you only pushed me - out of a TREEHOUSE!" 

Shannon covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back her giggles at the hurt outrage on Chris's face. Without thinking, she came and sat close beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm sorry." she managed, trying to keep her face straight, "I was only about five; I don't think my grasp of the law of gravity was too strong - certainly not as strong as the gravity itself! I honestly didn't think that would happen!" 

"And anyway, YOU cried for longer than I did!" he insisted sulkily. 

"I did, didn't I?" she remembered, "I thought I'd killed you, I cried for hours!" 

"You were that upset?" 

"More worried 'bout what my Mom would say!" she joked, "Just kidding! 'Course I was upset - you scared the life out of me, not moving like that!" 

"Sorry if it seemed I was being inconsiderate, but I was in too much pain to move!" he complained, still pretending to be annoyed. "Actually, I think I was in shock. Who'd have thought that innocent looking little girl would go around throwing people out of trees?" 

"Don't!" she protested, swatting him lightly on the arm, "You make it sound like I was a real monster!" 

"You WERE!" 

Shannon looked away and then, putting on a childish voice, looked back at him with wide imploring eyes. "I sorry, d'you forgive me, Chrissy?" 

Chris laughed softly at her imitation of her younger self, "Don't look at me like that. You always did get away with murder with those puppy-dog eyes!" 

"Does it still work?" she asked slyly. 

"Hmmm, I'll think about it." he said infuriatingly, "But only if you don't call me Chrissy again!" 

"Whadda you mean - you'll THINK about it?" she demanded, giving him a whack which only succeeding in making him laugh. 

"Okay, okay! I give in!" he grinned, fending her off, "I forgive you!" 

"That's more like it!" she announced triumphantly; her cheery tone so different to that which she had previously used, Chris found himself looking intently at her, hoping this change was not going to disappear as quickly as it had occurred. She was smiling now; the first genuine smile he had seen from her since his return, one which lit her whole face and made her green eyes sparkle like stars. He knew only too well the full power of that smile; it was infectious, influencing ..... beautiful. 

# /And it's been a while since I've gone and fucked things up/ Just like I always do/ And it's been a while but all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you/ # 

"What's wrong?" 

Chris snapped out of his daydream and shook his head, "Uh, nothing. Do you realise we just had a perfectly normal conversation - relatively speaking, at least. I mean, it wasn't stilted or awkward, so ..... how about we start over? We didn't exactly get off to a great start yesterday." 

"True." admitted Shannon, "I think that's probably a good idea." 

"Friends then?" he asked, holding out his arms, "No strings attached - just friends." 

Trying to read his expression, Shannon nodded slowly and hesitantly leaned over to receive his embrace. "Just friends." she murmured against his shoulder as they hugged. 

***** 


	13. Ch. 13

Ch.13. 

Drawing back, Chris couldn't help thinking back to all those years ago and regretting, not for the first time, his actions. "You do know I'm sorry, don't you?" 

# /And it's been a while since I could look at myself straight/ And it's been a while since I said I'm sorry/ # 

Instantly knowing what he was referring to, Shannon simply nodded. "Yeah, I know. I never thought it was your fault anyway, but you still apologised often enough!" 

"It seems so long ago, doesn't it?" 

"Sometimes." said Shannon without really meaning to, giving herself a little shake afterwards. "Uh, can we go back to my interview, please?" she asked, turning her tape recorder back on. 

"Suppose so." he smiled, "But actually, there is something else I wanted to ask you." 

"Go on then." she consented. 

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." he warned, "You and Billy - how long has that been going on?" 

"Why do you want to know?" she asked suspiciously. 

"Just curious, I guess. Well?" 

"Not long, maybe a month." 

"Don't you know exactly?" he said, a little surprised, "I thought the guys were the ones who were supposed to forget all those important little details like anniversaries." 

"So I'm not good with dates - sue me!" 

"I still remember ours." he admitted. 

"September, twenty-fourth." they said together, staring at each other in surprise. 

"I thought the guys were meant to forget." she said almost accusingly. 

"Never did like stereotyping. Anyway, I thought YOU weren't good with dates." said Chris, as Shannon merely shrugged in response. "So, would it be stupid to ask if it was serious?" 

"Considering he doesn't even trust me, it would probably be VERY stupid." said Shannon bitterly. 

"How doesn't he trust you?" 

"He knows about ..... us. He didn't want me to come here today." she confessed unhappily, "If he can't even trust me ....." 

Chris saw the pain in her eyes and immediately began to feel guilty. He reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked worriedly. 

"What? Oh, yeah! It's nothing like that, he's just being a jealous, paranoid PIG!" she declared angrily, but biting back a little sob. 

"I'd hate to hear you if you didn't like him!" grinned Chris in amusement, feeling somewhat relieved when she gave him a little lopsided smile in return. 

"I guess it doesn't really have much of a future." she said, admitting it for the first time, more to herself than to anyone else. 

"His loss." 

"That's debatable." 

"DON'T!" Chris all but snapped, surprising them both. "Don't talk like that. If he can't see when he's got a good thing, then he doesn't deserve you. Don't let him EVER make you doubt that." 

# /And it's been a while since I've seen the way the candles light your face/ And it's been a while but I can still remember just the way you taste/ # 

By this stage, Chris had rested both hands on Shannon's shoulders and now, he reached out and, with one finger beneath her chin, tilted her head up so she was looking straight at him. He looked deep into her luminous green eyes as they roamed across his face and then he leaned in towards her. 

"Chris ....." she began, but her words were cut off as he kissed her softly. "Chris, I really can't ....." she tried again, turning to go. 

Aware of nothing but the fact that he couldn't let her go back to someone who didn't appreciate her, he rashly grabbed her arm, spinning her back towards him to kiss her again. Shannon's hands flew to his chest to push him away, but her few seconds of hesitation proved to be her undoing. As he kissed her, old memories which had been pushed to the back of her mind came flooding back, washing over her in waves. Not without some misgivings, her hands slowly slid up over his shoulders to link behind his neck as she kissed him back. 

As her mind suddenly registered the exact consequences of what she was doing, Shannon broke away from him hastily. "Oh, God!" she gasped, her eyes wide with dismay, "What the hell am I DOING? I can't - this isn't fair on anyone! I have to get out of here." 

"Shannon, don't go ....." 

"Chris, let go of me. This was a REALLY bad idea ..... I ..... I shouldn't have come." she said, pulling back and walking backwards away, before turning and breaking into a run. 

"Shannon, come back! WAIT! I'm ....." he yelled after her, but she was gone, "..... sorry! DAMN!" 

# /And it's been a while since I could hold my head up high/ And it's been a while since I said I'm sorry/ # 

***** 


	14. Ch. 14

Ch. 14. 

Having ran the whole way back to her car, Shannon sank into the driver's seat, but instead of driving off immediately, she rested her forehead on the leather steering wheel and took a deep breath. 

"Shit, Chris; why did you have to turn up now?" she questionned angrily. But she knew that her anger was not directed at him, she would admit that; but what she did not want to admit was that at that exact moment, deep down, she was cursing Billy's very existence. 

Automatically, she straightened up, fastened her seat-belt and stuck the key in the ignition. In one fluid motion, she started the engine and shifted the car into gear, speeding out of the carpark. It was only when she reached her apartment that she realised she was probably very lucky not to have been in an accident - her mind had never been further from her body; she couldn't even remember the drive home. 

Once inside, she quickly pulled off her jacket, dropping it and the rest of her belongings onto the couch, before heading into her bedroom. She lay down on her bed, curled up in a ball, wishing she could stop playing events over in her head. Trying to take her mind off things, she leaned over and pressed the button on her answering machine to listen to her messages. 

"You have two new messages." came the mechanical voice. 

"Hey, Shan." came the first speaker who Shannon correctly identified as Paige, "Since you don't seem to be home, I'm guessing work's keeping you busy ..... Or something like that!" She broke off to laugh lightly. "You know I'm just teasing! Give me a call later, okay? Bye." 

Shannon shook her head, but had to smile in spite of herself - a smile which the second voice wiped away as soon as she heard it. 

"Uh, hi, Shannon - it's Chris. Listen, I just wanted to ..... I mean, you took off in such a hurry, I just wanted to check you got home safe. And, uh, I also wanted to ..... apologise. You have every right to be angry with me, I shouldn't have done what I did. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, so I guess what I'm trying to say is ..... I'm sorry. I'm going to leave my cell number, please call me, just to let me know you're okay. Once again, I'm really sorry, Shan. Bye." 

Shannon listened as a number was recited right at the end of the message and fell back down onto her bed, burying her face in the pillow. She was completely at a loss as to what she should do. She could hear the concern in his voice and she supposed he did have a point - she could have had a serious accident or even killed someone, maybe herself. 

"God, I am so stupid!" she declared, and she wasn't just referring to her driving. 

Sitting up, she replayed the message twice more, listening intently each time as if expecting some kind of subliminal message to make the decision for her and tell her what to do. The third time she listened to the message, she got up and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, waiting to hear the number and scribbling it down. She stared at the number as if she hadn't realised that she had written it and her hand hovered over the phone. It couldn't hurt to call him, just to let him know she was still in one piece, it was the decent thing to do. Maybe she had overreacted - it was only a kiss and there had been circumstances. They had been so caught up in talking about the past and she had upset herself, it was inevitable they would make a silly mistake. And that was all it was - a mistake which didn't mean anything. A little voice in her head asked her who she was trying to kid, told her Chris might have made a mistake but she had kissed him back. Shannon ignored it and was just about to pick up the receiver when the phone rang, making her jump violently. Drawing back her hand, she decided to let the answering machine take the call and sat down to listen. 

"Shannon, it's Billy. Where the hell are you? You should have been back ages ago. Anyway, some of the guys are going out tonight and I said we'd go. I'll pick you up at ....." 

Hearing that much, Shannon groaned - she really wasn't in the mood to go out, especially with Billy's friends. She grabbed the phone, trying to think of a plausible excuse. 

"Billy!" she began, "Hi! I was just ....." 

"Why weren't you answering the phone?" he asked impatiently. 

"I just got back and I was in the shower." she covered quickly. 

"You just got back? An interview shouldn't have taken that long - or did you two have a lot of TALKING to do?" he said sarcastically. 

Resenting his tone, Shannon had to bite her lip to stop herself saying something she would regret and instead lie to him. "Oh, it didn't take long at all. I popped in to see Paige at the office and she kept me chatting; you know what she's like." 

"Hmmm. Well, anyway - I was just saying, I'll pick you up around eight ....." 

"Oh, Billy, do we have to go out? I really would rather have a quiet night in. Maybe we could get some take-out and a movie?" she tried, not particularly wanting to do that either, but thinking she could at least agree to compromise. 

"I've already promised the guys we'd be there." 

"Well, why don't you just go? They won't care if I'm there or not ....." 

"What are you trying to say, Shannon?" he asked, his tone dangerously low, "Any particular reason you don't want to come out with me? You made other plans? Got someone else in mind?" 

"Of course not!" she protested, "I just thought ....." 

"Good. Then it's settled. Eight o'clock - better be ready. See you later." he finished shortly, hanging up before she had a chance to reply. 

"Great. Just GREAT." she muttered, slamming down the receiver. 

***** 

After Shannon had taken off, Chris had spent a long time wandering around the park cursing himself for being such an idiot. He had barely even noticed when it started to rain and it was only when it had started to really pour that he had headed for his rented car. He had started to drive towards the hotel before changing his mind and turning the car around at the first opportunity. Having turned on the radio only so he wouldn't have to listen to the silence, he had followed familiar roads until he had reached the outskirts of the city. Finally he had reached his destination and pulled over in front of a row of houses with large well-kept gardens. A strange feeling had swept over him as he had found himself looking at a familiar scene. But that was all it was - familiar. He had found that there were big changes, only traces of the past remained. 

"I guess nothing stays the same forever." he had thought wistfully, looking at his old home. 

As his eyes had roamed over the garden, he had happened to look up and had been forced to smile when he caught sight of the old treehouse. 

"Who'd have thought that would have survived when nothing else seems to have?" he had sighed, before staring suddenly. He hadn't noticed until then that there was someone in the treehouse. Shifting a little in his seat, he had realised there were actually two children playing there, a little boy and a little girl. When a woman had appeared at the door of the house and shouted at them to be careful, the feeling of deja-vu had been so strong that Chris had found himself feeling like a spectator of his own past. Involuntarily he had tightened his grip on the steering wheel and quickly made up his mind. He had grabbed his cell phone and called the operator, asking for the number for the Edmonton Gazette. Trying to keep the number he had been given in his head, he had dialled it quickly and waited impatiently for someone to answer. When someone had inquiried as to who was speaking, he had paused, wondering if he should continue with his hastily formed plan. One look out of the car window at the scene in front of him had made his decision for him and before he had known what he was doing, he had found himself answering the question. 

"Uh, I was wondering if someone could help me out? This is Chris Benoit from the World Wrestling Federation and I'm trying to contact one of your reporters, Shannon Benson ....." 

***** 


	15. Ch. 15

Ch. 15. 

Back in his hotel room, Chris was sitting on the couch holding his cell phone and staring intently at it. 

"Watched pot never boils." commented Chris Irvine from his place by the window. 

"Huh?" 

"Staring at it won't make it ring." he explained, having wormed the whole story out of his friend and knowing the reason for his anxiety. "I'm sure she's fine." 

"I hope so. But even if she is, I've really screwed up ....." 

"Listen, man, she kissed you back - that's usually a good sign!" 

"Then I couldn't see her for dust - that's usually not!" he sighed, "And what about her boyfriend? She's moved on and I've got no right to come swanning back here, messing up her life. She was upset, I shouldn't have taken advantage of that ....." 

"So she was upset - who upset her? Her so-called boyfriend, that's who!" announced Irvine triumphantly. "Didn't you say she told you it was practically over?" 

"Not in so many words ....." 

"Whatever. Look, if she's gonna ring, she'll ring. If she's not, it doesn't mean she's had an accident - it just means, um ..... she doesn't want to talk to you." he tried, trailing off awkwardly. 

"Gee thanks, don't know what I'd do without you to cheer me up." said Chris sarcastically. 

"You have to put this out of your mind. A lot of us are going out tonight ....." 

"Oh no, not after last time!" protested Chris immediately. 

"Aww, c'mon, it'll be fun! You remember fun, don't you? You have to come show us your home town. Drew's coming, and Terry, and Amy and Matt, and Jeff, and Dwayne, Scott, Nora, Paul and Steph ..... everyone's coming and I'm not going to stop annoying you until you give in!" enthused Irvine with a grin. 

"What's new?" groaned Chris. "I'm really not in the mood, Chris. I wouldn't be good company." 

"What's new?" shot back Irvine, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! What are you gonna do if you don't - sit here and mope? I don't think so - you're coming should I have to drag you!" 

"Fine." grumbled Chris, more in a last ditch attempt for some peace than anything else. 

"Such enthusiasm - don't get carried away!" grinned Irvine. 

***** 


	16. Ch. 16

Ch. 16. 

Although he had not shown much enthusiasm, Chris forced himself to make an effort and show his friends around Edmonton until they finally, at Chris Irvine's command, headed for a club. Thanks to the antics of the others, he managed to push recent events to the back of his mind, even though they were not completely forgotten. They had all been enjoying themselves, laughing and joking amongst themselves, until most of them had decided to hit the dancefloor. Only the two Chrises remained at their group of tables, watching the others and attempting to talk over the loud music. As a normal level of conversation was difficult to maintain, Chris Benoit had found his mind beginning to wander and he wondered again what Shannon was doing at that moment. 

He raised his glass to his lips and was about to take a drink when he happened to look up, freezing before setting the glass back on the table. 

"Oh, God," he said flatly, "She's here." 

"No way, man," said Chris Irvine, guessing who he was referring to and shaking his head in disbelief, "You're just imagining what you want to see. Either that or you've been knocking them back when my back's been turned and now you're hallucinating! It's too much of a coincidence - of all the bars in Edmonton ....." 

"..... she had to walk into this one." finished his friend, pulling him sharply to one side and nodding in the direction of the bar, "Shut up and look!" 

For once he did as he was told and found himself staring past the crowds of bodies on the dancefloor at a pretty girl in tight-fitting blue jeans and a pale pink handkerchief top, who was moving towards the bar, carrying her leather jacket in one hand, blonde hair cascading to her shoulders in waves. He whistled appreciatively and turned back to the table to comment. 

"WELL! Now I see what all the fuss was about!" he exclaimed with a grin. 

"You just keep your eyes to yourself, Irvine." he was warned, only half jokingly. 

"You were the one who told me to look!" he protested. 

"Look, not leer." emphasised Chris Benoit firmly. 

"Anyway, I'm guessing Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Arrogant behind her is the famous Billy, right?" 

"Right. And I'm guessing those are his friends." said Chris, watching one of the guys say something to Shannon, making her bristle angrily while Billy laughed heartily, "They sure don't look like Shannon's." 

"At least you know she's okay now." 

"Yeah." said Chris, still watching her thoughtfully. "For now." 

***** 

Meanwhile, Shannon was looking around the club while she waited for Billy to order the drinks at the bar. Just as he was about to join her, she caught sight of Chris and his friends and felt her face flush guiltily. Raising her gaze towards the ceiling, she shook her head in disbelief. She had been determined to make an effort and had spent ages getting ready and trying to muster up some enthusiasm, putting everything else to the back of her mind only for it to be thrown in her face. 

"Someone up there has really got it in for me. What, was I a serial killer in a past life or something?" she sighed. "I REALLY don't need this now - I can't let Billy see them." she thought, quickly turning to head him off and instead bumping straight into him. 

"Watch it!" he barked sharply, as some of the two drinks spilled over his hands. 

As he set them on the bar to shake his hands dry, she began to apologise hastily. 

"I'm so sorry, Billy, I wasn't looking where I was going." she tried. She didn't realise that he was looking past her, not at her, when he smiled grimly as she was too busy inwardly chastising herself. 

"God, listen to yourself!" she thought incredulously, "You're grovelling like a little kid, scared of getting in trouble - and to the guy who's supposed to CARE about you! The guy who USED to care about you anyway." 

"That's okay, babe. I'll forgive you ..... this time." he said darkly, pushing her back against the high counter of the bar and kissing her roughly. 

"What are you doing?" she hissed in embarrassment when he let her go, "There are people looking!" 

"Let them!" he said, "You're not ashamed of me, are you?" 

"Of course not!" she replied, almost too quickly, "Lets just find somewhere to sit, okay?" 

"There's a free table over there." said Billy. 

"Where?" 

"Over there ..... beside your wrestler friend." he said, watching intently for her reaction and thinking he saw her pale a little, but unable to tell for sure. 

"Wouldn't you rather sit somewhere else?" she asked, forcing herself to ask the question as casually as she could. 

"What's wrong with over there?" 

"Nothing, I suppose ....." 

"Well, come on then." he said, grabbing their drinks and leading the way. 

"He has to be doing this on purpose." she thought to herself dismally, as she realised she had no option but to follow him across the dancefloor and wish hopelessly that it would open and swallow her whole. 

***** 


	17. Ch. 17

Ch. 17. 

" If ever there was a kiss that was purely for show, that was it." said Chris Irvine in disgust, as they witnessed Billy's little performance which, as he rightly guessed, was aimed solely at them. Or at least, more accurately, at one of them. "Why doesn't she swing for him?" 

"Probably because she enjoys being able to breathe on her own." returned Chris Benoit grimly. 

"You think he'd hurt her?" 

"She didn't really hint at anything like that, but I wouldn't put anything past him." 

"And you wouldn't be biased!" grinned Irvine, "But it looks like we're gonna find out more about the guy real soon - they're coming this way." 

Chris looked across the dancefloor and saw with mixed feelings that this was true. On the one hand, he wanted to talk to her, or even just see her, to make sure she was okay; however, on the other hand, there was Billy and all the complications he brought with him. He noticed the reluctant look on Shannon's face and sympathised; but when he saw the look on Billy's face, realisation hit him. 

"Smug git!" he muttered under his breath, broadening Irvine's grin, "He's doing this on purpose. He must know something and wants to prove a point - although he can't know about this morning, or he wouldn't be so calm. Of all the people we had to run into ..... I REALLY do not want to have to make small talk with HIM!" 

***** 

In a moment, Billy and Shannon were in front of them and the tension in the air seemed to increase suddenly. 

"Well, hello." said Billy cheerfully, "Didn't expect to see you again so soon. Billy, Shannon's boyfriend, remember?" 

"How could I forget?" said Chris with a tight smile, "Hi, Shannon." 

"Hi." she said softly, "I'm sorry, you don't mind if we sit here, do you?" 

"Of course they don't." laughed Billy, turning with the air of a conspirator to the other two men, "She worries too much, doesn't she?" 

"It's okay." said Chris, seeing from the look in her eyes that she was apologising for a lot more than their choice of table and wanting to reassure her that he understood. 

An awkward silence fell over the group as the couple sat down and everyone except Billy found it increasingly uncomfortable. He, however, seemed oblivious. Fortunately for the others, it was soon broken by the return of the roster members who had been enjoying themselves on the dancefloor. 

"Thought y'all might have livened up by now - guess I was wrong!" giggled Nora, before she noticed the newcomers, "Oh hi! Not interrupting, are we?" 

"Not at all." said Chris, relieved by their arrival and beginning to make the necessary introductions. "Nora, this is Shannon Benson, an old friend of mine, and her boyfriend, Billy. This is Nora Greenwald; Terry Gerin; you'll know the names of those two - Matt and Jeff Hardy; likewise, Stephanie McMahon; over there is Amy Dumas; Dwayne Johnston; that's Paul Levesque; and this is Andrew Martin. I think that's everyone." 

"Pretty sure I won't remember those all, but I'll try." smiled Shannon, "Hi! Oh, Andrew, we met before, right?" 

"That's right." he said smiling, "Good to see you again - you should have said you were Chris's friend." 

"Hey, aren't you going to introduce me?" came a plainitive inquiry, "I was here first! Chris Irvine, nice to meet you!" he continued smoothly, shaking hands with Shannon. 

"Two Chrises, that must get confusing. But it's nice to meet you too!" 

***** 

Soon all the nearby chairs were taken as they all found seats and Billy's friends also joined them. Shannon guiltily found that she was pleased to notice that he and his friends were all sitting towards one end of the group of tables and that Billy's attention was diverted away from her, enabling her to relax slightly. She sat back and listened to the friendly bantering that went on between the wrestlers, enjoying the now friendly atmosphere and sipping occassionally on her drink. 

After a moment or two, Shannon noticed the girl with long dark red hair beckoning to her and went over to where she was sitting. 

"Hi, I'm Amy!" she smiled, "Shannon, isn't it? Come sit with us girls for a bit. So, you're a friend of Chris, huh?" 

"Yeah, that's right." Shannon nodded, casting a wary glance towards Billy, but he was engrossed in his own conversation. 

"Have you guys stayed in touch?" 

"Ah, no. We just happened to meet up 'cause I'm a reporter now and I had to interview Chris." she said, not wanting to go into the details. 

"Funny how these things happened." commented Stephanie, "When was the last time you saw each other?" 

"Ages ago - I was still in high school ....." 

"Wow! You weren't kidding when you said you hadn't stayed in touch - couldn't you put up with him any longer?" laughed Amy. 

Shannon forced a smile and nodded, "Something like that." 

Suddenly Amy flashed them an evil grin and lowered her voice, "I bet you could tell us some stories - all the embarrassing high school stuff that Chris would never tell us. A little bit of blackmail goes a long way in the locker rooms!" 

"You mean the kind of stories Chris would kill me for telling you?" asked Shannon with a grin of her own. 

"The very ones!" agreed Amy. 

"I couldn't possibly!" gasped Shannon in mock horror. 

"We would, of course, repay ya by giving ya the ..... er, UNOFFICIAL lowdown on all the guys ......" revealed Nora temptingly. 

"Well, when you put it like that ...... where do we start?" Shannon laughed. 

"Good question!" the others echoed. 

***** 

" ...... so, when Chris - Irvine, I mean - got drunk, he seemed to think he was back in the ring, instead of in a crowded bar." Stephanie continued with her story, "So, there he is - on top of a table, announcing to everyone that he is going to be the next champion ..... 

Meanwhile, the guys were so busy talking that they hadn't noticed the girls huddled together in a separate little group. 

"Hey, what are the girls gossiping about?" asked Paul suddenly, as he finally looked up. 

They all turned to look at them, but the girls didn't notice them. 

"Probably just girlie things." said Andrew, "You know how they get when they get together." 

All of a sudden, all the girls looked straight at them, burst out laughing and turned away again quickly. 

"Okaaay." said Paul slowly, "Did that make anyone else nervous?" 

Stephanie was giggling so much, she was finding it hard to continue and Shannon was listening wide-eyed. "NO! What did the bouncer say?" 

"He said ....." started Stephanie, but she kept breaking off to giggle, " ..... he said ´You can't call me a trash-bag ho - you're the one who tried to kiss me!`" 

All four girls dissolved into uncontrollable laughter, bringing tears to their eyes and increasing the paranoia of the guys. 

"God, that is hilarious - I really needed that to cheer me up." confessed Shannon, wiping her eyes. 

"The guys are giving us weird looks." informed Nora, "D'ya think we should hit the dancefloor before they get suspicious?" 

"Great idea!" agreed Amy, grabbing Shannon's hand. She saw her glance at Billy and reassured her, "Once they start talking again, they'll forget all about us. Come on!" 

Shannon didn't have to stretch her imagination to believe that Billy would forget about her and nodded. "Lets go." 

***** 


	18. Ch. 18

Ch. 18. 

Amy was proved right in her assumption that the guys wouldn't miss them. They had resumed their conversation, only vaguely registering the fact that the laughter had stopped, and the girls had danced to three or four songs before anyone even questioned their whereabouts. 

"Uh, guys," said Irvine eventually, "The girls have disappeared. Anyone know where they went? Matt?" 

"How should I know?" came the reply. 

"Well, one of them is your girlfriend!" Irvine pointed out with a grin, "Can't you keep her under control?" 

"You should know by now, Amy takes orders from no one. And that includes me!" emphasised Matt. 

"You just gotta know how to handle women, show them who's boss." claimed Billy suddenly, having overheard the latter part of their conversation and tilted his chair back lazily on two legs to chip in. 

Matt was too busy wondering if he was actually serious to reply, but Chris Benoit couldn't resist. "So where's Shannon then?" 

As Billy was about to reply confidently, he cast a look towards the place she had been sitting and stopped abruptly. His chair crashed back down on to all four legs and he glared round at the others. 

"Where is she?" he demanded angrily, to the surprise of the rest of the guys who were taken aback by his outburst. "Where IS she?" 

"Jeez, calm down, man!" said Irvine, "I've just spotted the girls - they're dancing and Shannon's with them. Looks like they're having a good time. What's the matter, Billy-boy? You scared she'll run off on you?" he added, earning a nudge in the ribs from Chris Benoit, even though he too was trying to hide a smirk. 

It was probably fortunate that the girls chose that moment to return, diffusing Billy's anger, although they didn't realise it. 

"Hey guys! Who's coming to join us?" asked Amy brightly, as Stephanie grabbed Paul's hands, giving him no choice in the matter. "Oh! I love this!" she squealed, hearing the opening bars of the next song and dashing back to the dancefloor with a helpless Matt in tow. 

"I love this song too!" sighed Nora wistfully, sitting down. 

"Come on then, Nora." said Irvine, smiling fondly at the petite blonde, "Can't have you missing out." 

As the only girl left, Shannon glanced hopefully at Billy, who initially didn't even understand her gaze. When he realised what she was thinking, he started to laugh. 

"No use looking at me like that, babe - you know I don't dance. And anyway, I'm enjoying my drink way to much to get up!" he stated casually. 

Shannon tried to laugh nonchalantly, but inside, she was so embarrassed that she just wanted to leave. She could see the looks the rest of the guys were exchanging and couldn't help but feel a little glad that Chris had headed towards the bar merely a few seconds earlier, so that he didn't hear this and see how unhappy Billy could actually make her. She couldn't think of anyone else who had a boyfriend who wouldn't even dance with her and she was alarmed to feel tears burning at the backs of her eyes. 

"Why can't you just make an effort for once?" she wanted to scream at him, "I've had to!" 

However, she was not the type to make a scene and instead concentrated so hard on her drink that she didn't notice Dwayne stand up and drop naturally into his on-screen character in order to lighten the mood. 

"Woah, woah, woah, WOAH!" he commanded the stunned Billy, "Seeing as this Jabroni doesn't dance, the Rock says he can't complain if the Rock borrows his girl." 

He extended an arm towards Shannon which, after a moment's hesitation, she took with a small, surprised smile, just grateful to get away from the others; and he led her towards the dancefloor, pausing only to shoot Billy the People's Eyebrow. 

Once on the dancefloor, Shannon tried to excuse Billy's behaviour, more to cover her own embarrassment than to defend him. "Thanks for this, Dwayne - or should I say, Rock? He ..... he's not usually like this ...." 

But Dwayne silenced her with one finger, "All the Rock knows is that he would like to take his boot, turn it sideways and stick it straight up his candyass! But for now, the Rock will be content to dance with you. Okay?" 

"Okay." she answered, smiling in spite of herself. 

***** 

Later, both Chrises were standing at the bar, involved in a heated debate. 

"NO." said Chris Benoit firmly, signalling the end of the conversation. 

"But why not?" 

"Because." 

"But because WHY?" 

"God, do you EVER give up?" 

"No. Because why?" came the persistent question. 

"Because I don't want to get her in trouble." 

"Far as I'm aware, you can't do that just dancing!" smirked Irvine, leaning on the bar. 

"With Billy, idiot!" groaned Chris in exasperation, smacking his tormentor upside the head. 

Just then, they were joined by Terry who ordered a drink and then turned to talk to the two. 

"Hey, Chris - that friend of yours, her boyfriend's a bit of an asshole, isn't he." he commented. 

"I know." said Chris in quick agreement, even as Irvine said, "What makes you say that?" 

"Well, put it this way - if I had a girl like that, no way would she get ignored. The guy has barely looked in her direction all night and he won't even dance with her; he must be crazy." said Terry, shaking his head. 

"Hear that, man? Go ask her to dance." coaxed Irvine again, "Billy probably won't even notice and you'll only regret it if you don't. For cryin' out loud, you're both adults - if you can't dance with her ....." 

"Okay, okay, I'm going." he gave in, setting down his glass, before reconsidering and downing the last of its contents first. 

"What's his deal?" asked Terry. 

"Long story, Terry. Long story." said Irvine, clapping him on the back. "So, what about that certain person you had your eye on? Have you talked to her yet?" 

Terry shook his head and sighed, "Nah, I don't think she's interested ....." 

"And how would you know this when you won't TALK to her? You're as bad as he is!" he said, gesturing after Chris Benoit. "What do I look like - an agony aunt? Listen, I'll talk to you in a bit - but there's something I have to do first." 

"Chris ....." Terry began to protest, but the blonde Canadian had already left. 

***** 


	19. Ch. 19

Ch. 19.

Slowly, Chris Benoit made his way over to Shannon, glad that she was no longer sitting next to Billy and, as if his mind had no connection with his body, he found himself asking her to dance in a low voice. Wide, unsure eyes looked up at him and she hesitated as they flickered towards her boyfriend. As they both heard him laugh drunkenly at the coarse joke of one of his friends, Chris saw a look in her eyes which he couldn't quite read, but it didn't matter as she stood up and took his hand. Together, they weaved their way through the mass of people to a space on the dancefloor, only for the track which had been playing to be abruptly swapped for a slow, romantic song as soon as they got there. Chris stopped dead and looked towards the DJ, spotting Chris Irvine standing suspiciously close. What was more suspicious, however, was the innocent smile on his face.

"I'll kill him." thought Chris, before turning back to Shannon. "We don't have to if you don't want to."

Shannon glanced at Billy and it seemed likely to her that he had forgotten she even existed. "I don't mind if you don't." she said.

Tentatively, she placed her hands on his shoulders and felt the gentle pressure of his hands at her waist as they swayed in time to the music. At first, she could only worry that Billy would lose his temper and create a scene, but after a little while, she couldn't help relaxing. The music flowed over her and, in spite of the day's earlier events, that familiar comfortable feeling she always had when she was with Chris returned. 

"I got your message." she said suddenly, not knowing why she had mentionned it. "How did you get my number?"

"I called the newspaper." Chris answered hesitantly, wondering if she was angry with him; after all, she hadn't returned the call.

"Really? They're not supposed to give out stuff like that." she said, sounding only surprised.

"Well, that's where I got it. From a girl called ..... um, Paige, I think. I'm sorry, but I was worried. I just wanted to check you were okay."

"It's fine. I guess I'm just surprised you went to that trouble, it's been a while since anyone worried about me - well, 'cept maybe Paige." she confessed. "She's a friend of mine, which would explain why she gave you the number. She knows that we ..... know each other. I'm sorry I didn't call you - I was going to, but then ....."

"What?" he asked, looking down at her as she sighed.

"Billy called and talked me into coming out tonight. I didn't really want to, but ..... Anyway, I still had loads to do for work and I thought if I was coming I might as well make an effort, so it took me ages to get ready ....."

"Don't worry about it - I can see for myself that you're okay. I just hope Billy appreciated your effort." he smiled, before noticing the look on her face and heaving his own sigh. "Let me guess - he didn't notice?"

She shook her head slightly and looked down at the ground forlornly.

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you look beautiful ....." he stated simply.

Shannon looked up at him and a smile played across her lips, "Thank you, Chris."

" ..... and if he wasn't such an asshole, he realise that." Chris continued.

"Chris, don't." she warned quietly.

"What?"

"Don't spoil it. Lets just have a nice time and not get into this now." she said anxiously.

Not wanting to upset her again, Chris nodded and they fell silent. Mere moments pushed the episode to the backs of their minds and any awkwardness was once again dispelled. Little by little, they moved closer together until his arms were wrapped around her waist and her head was resting on his shoulder.

*****

Across the dancefloor, Chris Irvine was dancing with Nora again, occassionally glancing across at Chris and Shannon.

"Okay, d'ya wanna spill the beans, Chris? What's going on?" Nora asked finally.

"What do you mean?" he asked, feigning ignorance even though he could see what she was getting at.

"It's use use acting all innocent with me." she smiled, "I'm talking about Shannon. She turns up and the other Chris goes all quiet - even for him! And now you've been watching them like a hawk. There's something going on an' I think y'all know what it is. Now - spill!"

Chris knew when he was caught and decided he might as well come clean. Although he thought it was unlikely that he would be overheard due to the music, Chris pulled her closer and spoke right into her ear. As quickly as he could, he explained the situation to Nora. As he spoke in a low, rushed voice, her brown eyes softened and she looked around at Shannon and Chris Benoit.

"Awww! That's so romantic!" she sighed, "Imagine meeting up after all this time. But poor Shannon!"

"Poor Shannon!" echoed Chris in surprise, before biting his lip and lowering his voice. "Poor Shannon? Don't you mean, poor Chris? Shannon's found herself someone else ....."

"That doesn't mean she's happy." explained Nora, "And how could she be when it's obvious she's still in love with Chris?"

"WHAT!?!" gaped Chris, "And how exactly can you be so sure of that? You've only just met the girl - don't tell me Little Miss Molly is psychic?"

Nora laughed good-naturedly at his teasing but stuck to her point. "Oh, c'mon, silly! Ya got eyes, don'cha? - Use 'em! Look at the two of them, it's obvious!"

Once again, Chris looked across the dancefloor and now that it had been pointed out, he felt like an idiot for not realising sooner - Nora was right. He already knew how Chris felt - he would have had to be not only blind, but deaf and stupid to have missed that - but Shannon was a different matter. He didn't know her, although from what he had been told about that morning, he had suspected that she still had at least some feelings for his friend. However, having first met her boyfriend and taken an instant dislike to him, coupled with now seeing Shannon happier than she had looked all night, he knew she was still in love with Chris.

"Now d'ya see why I feel sorriest for her?" asked Nora softly, "Chris is a free agent, she isn't. Even if she ditches this Billy, it won't be that simple - he isn't gonna like it. He doesn't seem the understanding type, y'know?"

"I know." said Chris, sneaking a look at Billy which made his heart sink. "Understanding? - No. Insightful? - Probably too much. I'd say a certain possessive boyfriend has just put two and two together and come up with double figures."

*****

Meanwhile, Shannon and Chris had become oblivious to all those around them, therefore not noticing the gazes of Chris Irvine and Nora.

"I've missed you." Chris whispered in her ear, unwittingly causing tears to prick Shannon's eyelids for the second time that night.

She struggled to keep her tone light as she answered him, "I've missed you too."

She looked up at him again with the idea that she should say something else, but she didn't know where to start. As she tried to gather her thoughts, he leaned down and in front of everyone, in front of Billy, he kissed her deeply. Her head swimming and vaguely aware that she should stop him, Shannon found herself kissing him back as he held her tightly, running a hand through her hair. "Billy's going to kill me." was the only coherent thought which formed in her mind before she gave up even trying to find any.

"Shannon?" came a concerned voice, "Are you okay? You look a bit dazed."

Shannon blinked in confusion and saw that Chris was looking oddly at her. As soon as she saw this, she also realised that she had been daydreaming and put a shaky hand to her head, stammering a reply. "I ..... I'm okay. I just need ..... some fresh air."

"I suppose it is kinda stuffy in here." he said, still sounding worried, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"NO!" she said hastily, "I mean ..... no thanks, I'll be fine. Just give me a minute."

Before Chris could say another word, she was already heading for the door.

*****

*Author's note* : Hiya! Just wanna say a big thank you for the reviews so far, I'm glad there are people enjoying this 'cos I'm loving writing it! Hey, some call it a power trip - I prefer the term "creativity" :-) Anyway, thanks for reading, all I ask is that you review when you're done. Good, bad or indifferent - I really appreciate the feedback. More chapters to come v. soon - delays are thanks to large amounts of work to be done for scarily close dates, so I'm off to panic now! Bye!


	20. Ch. 20

Ch. 20. 

Wondering what was wrong with Shannon, Chris made his way to the bar where he was soon joined by Chris Irvine and Nora. 

"Where'd Shannon disappear to in such a hurry?" asked Irvine. 

"She wasn't feeling great so she went for some fresh air." explained Chris, "I don't know what happened - one minute she was fine and the next ..... I hope she's okay. I was gonna go with her, but she said she'd only be a minute." 

"Want me to go check on her?" offered Nora. 

"That would be great - thanks, Nora." he said gratefully. 

"No problem." she said easily, disappearing into the crowd. 

It was not long until they could spot her returning, her blonde curls bouncing over her shoulders. 

"Well?" asked Chris Benoit anxiously, "How is she?" 

"I THINK she's okay." said Nora, frowning slightly, "I heard her voice, but I didn't see her 'cause Billy was with her. I didn't wanna intrude, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I did the right thing." 

"Why? What do you mean?" Chris pressed. 

"I heard them arguing, an' it was getting pretty heated - I think I heard him call her ..... well, I coulda been wrong." 

"What do you think he called her?" he insisted, "Tell me." 

"A ..... a whore. Or that she was acting like one; something like that." said Nora, biting her lip worriedly. "But wait y'all, I could be wrong ....." 

But Chris had already slid off his bar stool, his hands clenched into fists. However, he only managed two strides before Chris Irvine grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back. 

"Woah, cool your jets there, Romeo!" he ordered, "You can't go storming out there, all guns blazing!" 

"Didn't you hear what Nora said?" he demanded in return. 

"I heard." he nodded grimly, "And I don't like it either. But if you go out there, it may only make things worse. He IS her boyfriend and it's a sad fact that all couples row at some stage; it's not your place to get involved ....." 

"So you're saying I should wait until he beats her up and then worry about it?" raged Chris incredulously. 

"Unfortunately I don't think you've got any option." said Irvine, "If he hurts her, then by all means, hunt the bastard down. But you can't just assume that he will." 

Deep down, Chris could see the logic in his friend's words, although he was reluctant to admit it. 

"If he so much as TOUCHES her - I'll rip his fucking head off!" he fumed angrily. 

Irvine nodded his agreement. "Sure thing. And I'll be more than glad to hold him for you."

"Shh, here they come. Don't y'all go jumpin' to conclusions now." Nora warned hastily as she glanced towards the door and noticed the debated couple returning, Shannon trailing behind Billy.

Chris was about to retort when the two were in front of him and he was forced to settle for staring at Billy through narrowed eyes and involuntarily clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Well, guys, it's been fun but we're gonna be heading off now." said Billy.

"Why don't both of you stay a bit longer?" asked Chris, his tone and gaze betraying his words, implying that while Shannon should certainly stay, Billy should go play with the traffic.

"Nah, it's getting late." said Billy, before lowering his voice so that only they could hear while Shannon could not, "And anyway, maybe we'll have ourselves a little private party - if you know what I mean?"

As he made his last comment, Billy nudged Chris lightly in the ribs and, as Chris knew exactly what he meant, had it not been for Nora's restraining hand on his arm, Billy would not have had a snowball's chance in hell of making it out of the club with all of his vital organs intact.

"Come on, Shannon - lets get out of this place." Billy said smugly.

She paused for a second, staring at the wrestlers in confusion over what had just occured before beginning to follow her retreating boyfriend. However, she didn't get far before Chris reached out and grabbed her hand.

"If you need anything - and I mean ANYTHING - call me." he said urgently, not letting her go until she nodded her agreement.

Nora watched Chris watching Shannon as she left and turned to whisper to Irvine, "He's got it real bad, huh? Wish someone cared about me the way he cares about her."

She was surprised by his reaction as it was like someone turning a lightbulb on inside his head. He grabbed her by the shoulders, grinning broadly.

"Funny you should say that, Nora, 'cause I just happen to know that someone on the roster really likes you." he told her.

"Me?" she squeaked in astonishment, "Really? Y'all aren't just winding me up?"

"No! Someone REALLY likes you."

"Who?"

"Aww, it'd be no fun if I just TOLD you - guess." he grinned infuriatingly.

"I can't guess!" she protested, blushing a little. Even though they wouldn't hear, she was still anxious that she wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings by overlooking them. "Please, Chris, just tell me."

"I'll give you a clue." he relented slightly, "He's got long dark hair, he's not overly tall and ..... um, he's not a million miles away."

With an idea of who it might be, Nora looked around and saw that someone looking at her. When they realised they had been spotted, they glanced away hastily and she smiled.

"Is it Terry?" she asked quietly, "Am I right? C'mon, Chris, stop keeping me in suspense."

"You didn't hear it from me." he confirmed, "I was sworn to secrecy, but it was doing my head in."

"Why didn't he say anything?" she wondered out loud.

"Oh, I can answer that one." Irvine claimed, "Believe it or not, the Man-Beast is kinda shy. He was scared you weren't interested. Are you? Interested, I mean."

Nora tilted her head to one side and contemplated his question. "Well, only one way to find out." she winked, "Thanks for tellin' me, Chris, ya sure are a great friend."

She gave him a quick hug and headed off to talk to Terry, stopping to tap Chris Benoit on the arm on her way.

"Chris?" she said, "I'm sure she'll be fine, ya shouldn't worry."

"Thanks, Nora." he replied, still looking a little distracted, "I hope you're right."

*****

Much later, the wrestlers were finally getting ready to leave. Generally, they'd had a good time and Chris Irvine was pleased to note that his matchmaking at worked; Nora had spent most of the latter part of the night dancing with or talking to Terry and they both looked very happy. He lifted his jacket and was about to follow the others to the door when he spotted a jacket which had been left behind.

"Hey, guys!" he called, "Someone forget a jacket?"

A few people shook their heads, until Amy glanced over and called back to him, "That looks like the one Shannon had - anyone know if she had hers with her when she left?"

"I don't think she did." Nora replied, "In fact, now I come to think of it, I'm sure she didn't."

"Here, I'll take it to her apartment." offered Chris Benoit, "I know where she lives."

"How'd you find that out?" asked Irvine, raising an eyebrow.

"From her work, when I was trying to contact her earlier." he explained, "And before you start, I was given the information, I didn't ask for it."

"I didn't say anything." said Irvine, "Good of you to return her jacket though. 'Course you don't want to check up on her ....."

"Don't. Start." he repeated, but he didn't really care. He had a bad feeling and he didn't think it was going to go away until he knew that Billy had not made his idea of a private party into a reality.

*****


	21. Ch. 21

21. Leaving his friends at the club, Billy strode through the carpark, forcing Shannon to practically jog to keep up with him. He jumped into the driver's seat of his car and, gunning the engine, he was driving off before Shannon even had time to fasten her seatbelt. As it was, she was lucky she had been able to close the door in time. Sensing he was still in a bad mood, but wondering why he had stopped shouting, Shannon could do nothing but shoot infrequent, cautious glances at him as they travelled in silence. Determined that she was going to sort everything out once and for all, she spent the rest of the journey working up the courage to say something. However, it was only as they came in sight of her apartment building that she found any words. 

"Billy?" she began hesitantly, without looking at him, "Look, I know what you think about earlier, but what did I really do wrong? I was just catching up with an old friend and having a laugh with some of the others - they're nice people ....." 

"I've already said all I'm going to about that. I thought we agreed to forget about it?" he replied as he parked the car, his voice strangely calm. 

She took a deep breath and turned to face him, "I think we need to talk - properly. Not now though, it's getting late and I've got work tomorrow." 

Billy's eyes searched her face and he frowned, guessing at what her little talk would entail. She made it sound so innocent, but she couldn't fool him - he wasn't just going to sit back and let this happen. 

"Maybe now's as good a time as any." he said, suddenly smiling, "And anyway, aren't you going to invite me in for a coffee?" 

"Maybe he's right." thought Shannon to herself, "Get this over and done with." 

She nodded and opened the car door, stepping out into the cold night air, shivering suddenly. "Damn! I must have left my jacket behind." she groaned, "It was my favourite one too." 

She heard quick footsteps and, feeling something warm slip over her bare shoulders, she reached to find out what it was. She found that Billy had taken off his own jacket and given it to her and, a little surprised, she gave him a grateful smile. 

"Thanks, Billy." she said, tiny seeds of doubt appearing in her mind; he could be sweet, when he wanted to be. His changed behaviour was making her wonder if she had maybe been wrong and had judged him too harshly. If he had been jealous, maybe it was because he did still care about her after all and just didn't want to lose her. 

"Can't have you freezing now, can we?" he said, draping an arm round her shoulders and steering her towards the building. 

"Hang on a minute, Shan." she silently told herself cautiously, "Sure, give him the benefit of the doubt - after all, it was great at the beginning - but just don't get carried away; you've seen how he can get. He gave you his jacket, not a promise of undying love!" 

Nevertheless, she relaxed a little and they walked into the building together. On reaching the door of her apartment, Shannon fumbled in the pockets of her jeans for her keys and quickly unlocked the door. 

"C'mon in." she said to Billy and he followed her willingly. "Take a seat and I'll make some coffee." 

She slipped his jacket from around her shoulders and handed it to him before heading into the kitchen. Billy waited until she had crossed the room, watching the slight sway of her hips with a smile on his face, and then settled himself comfortably on the couch. 

***** 

Waiting for Shannon to return, Billy quickly became aware of something digging into his back and reached behind the cushions to find out what it was. His fingers brushed something solid and closed around the object, pulling it free from its hiding place. He looked to see what had been bothering him and found Shannon's tape recorder. 

"Stupid place to leave it." he thought, "Me sitting on it probably hasn't done it a lot of good." 

Deciding to check to see if it still worked, he rewound the tape a little and then, turning the volume down so Shannon wouldn't come to see what he was doing, pressed the play button. He heard a male voice and sneered, not bothering to pay attention to the words. 

"I wonder who?" he thought sarcastically, glaring at the small machine. Then he heard the next voice, Shannon's, and his attention was immediately grabbed. 

"He knows about ..... us. He didn't want me to come here today." he heard her confess, "If he can't even trust me ....." 

"Oh, been telling tales, have we?" he murmured to himself, "No doubt HE was all too willing to provide a shoulder to cry on." 

"Are you going to be okay?" came the kind of reply Billy had expected to hear, almost making him laugh out loud. 

"Well, Shannon, what's the answer going to be? You better have thought carefully about this one." Billy thought. 

"What? Oh, yeah! It's nothing like that ....." she said, making him smile smugly. "..... he's just being a jealous, paranoid PIG!" 

The smile on Billy's face contorted with rage into a snarl and he tightened his grip on the tiny tape recorder, narrowing his eyes. "You little bitch!" he spat out, not really caring this time if she heard him or not. 

The tape continued but Billy wasn't listening, instead staring furiously at the door of the kitchen and only beginning to pay attention again when Chris's voice took on a forceful tone, saying "DON'T! Don't talk like that. If he can't see when he's got a good thing, then he doesn't deserve you. Don't let him EVER make you doubt that." 

"Very touching." said Billy quietly, his voice tight with rage, "Stupid move though, VERY stupid." 

As the tape continued, Billy merely shook his head slowly. He couldn't hear much, but what little he did hear spoke volumes and he stopped the tape having heard all he needed to. "Well, looks like someone's got a secret. Or THINKS she has anyway." 

Hearing Shannon making her way from the kitchen, Billy hurriedly shoved the recorder back behind the cushions and tried to gain control of his anger. 

***** 

"Here you go then." said Shannon cheerfully, handing him a steaming mug of coffee before taking a seat beside him. 

"Thanks, babe." he replied. 

For a moment there was an awkward silence as they both sipped their coffee, Shannon trying to think of something to say and Billy just looking at her, wondering if she had any intention of telling him what she had done. 

"So," began Billy, getting tired of the silence, "You wanted to talk?" 

"Uh, yeah." said Shannon, no longer so sure that this was a good idea - maybe she should give him one last chance. "But it is late, we could save it for another time ....." 

"Depends what you got to say." said Billy, "Anything important?" 

"No, nothing important." she lied, "I just thought it would be nice, since we don't really get much time alone ....." 

Billy raised his eyebrows and set his mug down on the coffee table. "I guess you're right." he said as he reached over and took her mug from her, setting it beside his own. 

"What are you doing?" she asked as he moved closer. 

"Making the most of it being just the two of us." he said, leaning in to kiss her. 

Surprised by his sudden change of attitude, Shannon merely allowed him to kiss her at first, before eventually returning his attention somewhat hesitantly. Billy wasted no time in deepening the kiss, changing it from gentle to forceful and demanding in a short space of time. With alarm bells going off in her head, Shannon raised her hands to try to push him away or at least tell him to slow down, but Billy grabbed her wrists tightly. Still kissing her, he pushed her back down onto the couch, pinning her there with the weight of his body. 

Managing to break his rough kiss, Shannon struggled to sit up but to no avail. 

"What the hell are you playing at?" she asked fearfully, "Let me go." 

However, Billy merely laughed. "Go ahead, play hard to get as usual - we both know you're not! You like playing games, don't you? Like flirting with all those other guys - you just do it to make me jealous!" 

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she exclaimed, "Let me go NOW!" 

"Oh, come on, Shannon! I think a month is long enough for all this teasing - if you're so keen to mess around, where better to start than with me? After all, I AM your boyfriend." 

"Billy, please," she tried desperately, "I don't know what's going on - can't we just talk about this?" 

"But we both know TALKING means something entirely to you, sweetheart, don't we? Why don't you tell me what you and Chris TALKED about this morning?" 

"It was an just an interview ....." 

"Don't give me that shit!" he snapped, holding her wrists with one hand and reaching to pull the tape recorder from its hiding place with the other. 

Unable to see what he was holding, Shannon frowned in confusion and Billy held the object in front of her face, mocking her. He pressed the record button and growled into the machine, "Note to self, when I decide to cheat on my boyfriend, I must remember to turn OFF the fucking tape recorder!" 

He glared down at Shannon as she paled and closed her eyes in horror, waiting until she opened them again to hurl the machine at the wall, smashing it. He laughed as she flinched and then leaned down to whisper into her ear. 

"Since you were willing enough with HIM, I think it's my turn now." 

Shannon tried to blink back tears as she pleaded with him, cursing herself for thinking he could have changed so quickly. "Please, Billy, I know I was wrong, but we only kissed - I swear nothing else happened. It was a mistake and I really am SO sorry ....." 

He cut off her words with a kiss, his free hand roaming over her body as if he owned it, bruising her skin with his less than tender caress, finally reaching the buttons of her jeans. Annoyed when she started screaming for him to stop, he drew back and slapped her hard across the face, drawing blood from her cheek with the ring he wore on his right hand. Although stunned by the sting of his blow, Shannon had enough presence of mind to notice that he had shifted his weight and she drew her leg up, kneeing him in the crotch as hard as she could. As he howled in pain, he let go his grip on her wrists and she seized the opportunity to push him, sending him toppling backwards still holding his crotch. 

Scrambling off the couch, she tried, in a split second, to decide what to do. Realising that if she left the apartment, he would just follow and probably catch her, she decided that her only option was to lock herself in the bedroom where the phone was. She glanced around and saw to her dismay that, although he wore an expression of unmistakable pain, Billy was already on his feet. She ran for the bedroom door and slammed it behind her, hearing him lunge forward and crash into it just as she closed it. Feeling his weight pushing against it, Shannon tried to lock the door, but it started to open. Pushing as hard as she could, she only just managed to turn the lock and sank to the floor in relief. Now that she had escaped, the full horror of the situation hit her and tears flowed freely down her cheeks, stinging her cut, as she leaned against the door. However, she had not yet completely escaped. As she could hear Billy throwing his weight against the wood, she became unsure that this was a sturdy enough barricade and hurried to the phone. 

Unfortunately, she had only lifted the receiver when there came an almighty crash and the door flew off its hinges, catapulting Billy into the room. 

Straightening up, he leered at her and nodded, "The bedroom - good idea, why didn't I think of it? I did say you were a whore, guess I really was right!" 

"Just go and I won't call the cops." she promised, her voice shaking. 

"You ain't calling anyone anyway." he told her, diving for her. 

In order to get away from him, Shannon had no choice but to drop the receiver and dodge to the side. Billy stopped in his tracks only long enough to rip the phone line from the wall before going after his prey again. She was heading for the doorway but he cut her off and, as she turned quickly, she stumbled and fell onto the bed. As he approached, she kicked out, making him back out of her range and give her the chance to leap to her feet. However, she had nowhere to go and Billy stalked towards her purposefully. He grabbed a handful of her blonde hair and when she resisted, he threw her towards the wall where she struck her head sharply before slumping to the floor. 

Seeing her lying motionless left Billy a little taken aback - this was not going how he had planned; in his mind, things had been considerable more straightforward. 

"Clumsy bitch." he muttered, looking around uncertainly, "Stop pretending - you can't fool me like that." 

A little worried at the extent of the damage he had caused, yet convinced she was acting, he aimed a kick at her ribs to test her reaction. He judged his kick carefully, not too hard but hard enough that she should make a sound or flinch or something. He watched intently but she didn't even move and her eyes were closed. For the first time, he noticed blood oozing from the back of her head and he stepped back in alarm. He hadn't wanted to kill her or anything, just teach her a lesson and give her a taste of her own medicine. 

"Shit! I gotta get outta here!" he panicked, looking for any incriminating evidence and spotting his jacket. He grabbed it and headed out the door, only glancing backwards once and shrugging as if there was nothing he could do. 

***** 


	22. Ch. 22

22. Having told Chris Irvine that he would drop in when he returned to prove he hadn't done something stupid and with Shannon's leather jacket resting on the passenger seat of his rented car, Chris Benoit headed for the address he had been given, all the while asking himself if this was such a good idea. He knew that Irvine didn't think it was, but that was only because he was convinced his sole objective was to inflict some serious pain on Billy.

"And wouldn't I love to?" he thought with a quick grin, "But HE won't be there. And anyway, I'm just doing a favour for a friend. I suppose it is really late though - she's gonna think it's weird I didn't just wait 'til a decent hour."

Then another thought hit him, making him scowl and grip the steering wheel tightly. "Maybe she IS with HIM, maybe he will be there. Maybe he's not normally so ..... so what? Arrogant, jealous, selfish, domineering, obnoxious .....? Maybe she ..... loves him? NO! Not after everything she said; it's not like they've been together for months; and anyway, he barely acknowledges her at times - bastard! How could he treat someone like Shannon the way he does? I wish ...... ah, forget it - there's no point going down that road again. I'll just go give her the jacket and get out of there."

By this time, he had almost reached the block of apartments where Shannon lived and, resisting a sudden urge to just turn the car around, he instead indicated in order to pull into the small car park. As he did so, he heard a sudden squeal of tyres and saw the headlights of a car heading straight for him at a ridiculous speed. Instinctively, he jerked the steering wheel and somehow managed to avoid a collision by a mere matter of inches.

"Watch it, asshole!" he yelled, even though he knew he would not be heard, "Where's the fire?"

Putting the incident out of his mind with a shake of his head, he parked the car and grabbed Shannon's jacket, taking a deep breath before locking the car and striding towards the building. Surprised, and a little annoyed, by how nervous he felt, he took the elevator to the seventh floor and then began looking for the correct number. When he found it, he merely stood looking at the door for a moment as if psyching himself up and then he knocked. When there was no answer, he tried again, shifting impatiently.

"Maybe she's not home yet - car could have broken down or anything." he thought reasonably, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. "Or maybe they went to HIS place" his mind added unwillingly.

With a frustrated sigh, Chris happened to try the handle, not for a second expecting the result which was rendered by his action. The handle turned in his grasp and the door swung open. After a moment's hesitation, Chris silently apologised to Shannon for the intrusion and then stepped inside.

"Shannon?" he called, his voice tinged with concern, "Shan, you home?"

Glancing around, something in the back of his mind registered the two coffee mugs on the table, but it was another fact which fully drew his attention - the bedroom door had been knocked off its hinges and the shattered remains of a tape recorder lay just outside the doorway.

As icy fingers brushed his heart, Chris hurried across the living room and stepped over the fallen door. Looking around quickly, the sight which greeted him, managing to somehow be both dreaded and unexpected, made him recoil as if from a blow and his blood ran cold.

"Holy shit - Shannon!" he gasped, running to drop to his knees beside her prone body.

She was lying face down on the floor beside her bed, her wavy blonde locks now red and matted with blood at the back of her head. Horrified, Chris reached out, scared to even touch her at first but then lightly nudging her shoulder, praying she would wake up. When she didn't, he carefully turned her onto her back, worried that he was aggravating any injuries she might have but also realising there was a very real possibility that she might have stopped breathing. Although he could still hardly believe this was happening, he checked both her breathing and her pulse, noting the blood and bruising on her cheek as he did so. 

"Shan? Honey, it's Chris - can you hear me?" he called into her ear desperately, "C'mon, you gotta wake up - please, Shannon, wake up!"

While he found that she was still breathing and that she had a pulse, the latter was worryingly weak and Chris gave up trying to wake her in favour of jumping up and grabbing the phone. Finding it useless, he hurled it down in frustration and searched impatiently in his pockets for his cell phone.

"DAMN!" he swore angrily, "Stupid thing must be in the goddamn car!"

Torn between staying with Shannon and going to find a phone, Chris realised that he couldn't waste any time. Bending down, he scooped her limp body into his arms, resting her head against his shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay," he whispered, not sure if she could hear him but needing to hear it himself, "Everything's gonna be okay."

*****

Moving as quickly as he could with the unconscious Shannon in his arms, Chris headed for the door. It was only when it closed behind him that he thought about having to leave the apartment without locking the door, but he quickly dismissed the problem.

"She's more important." he thought, continuing to the elevator without a backwards glance.

He made his way out of the building and across the dark carpark to his car, struggling to open the back door while still holding Shannon. Not without some difficulty, he got the door open and gently laid her on the back seat. Covering her with the jacket he had intended to return, he closed the door and jogged round to the front of the car, jumping into the driver's seat. Turning the key in the ignition, he thought for one painful moment that the car was not going to start but it then roared to life. Throwing it into gear, he floored the accelerator and sped out of the carpark, going as fast as he could without sending his passenger flying. As soon as they were on a straight stretch of the road, he fished around for his phone and, to his relief, he found it. Keeping one hand firmly on the steering wheel, he dialled the number of Chris Irvine's mobile and waited impatiently for him to pick up.

"Come on, answer the phone!" he muttered.

"It's three in the morning," came the complaint from the other end of the line, "Whoever you are, I'm warning you - someone better be dead!"

"Careful what you wish for." Chris warned in return as he rolled his eyes, having long since grown accustomed to his friend's lack of tact. "It's me and ....."

"Oh, hey, man! Where are you?" asked Irvine, before continuing with renewed enthusiasm. "Hey, wait a minute! Are you with Shannon? Is there something I should know?"

"Yeah on both counts, so shut up and listen!" barked Chris impatiently, "I'm on my way to the hospital ......"

"What!?! Tell me you didn't beat the shit out of Billy!" exclaimed Irvine.

"I didn't, but if what I suspect is true, it's definitely on my 'To Do' list! It's Shannon, she's been beaten up." he explained grimly.

"Jesus! Is it bad?"

"It's not good." Chris confirmed, "I'm gonna get her to hospital and stay with her - I can't leave her on her own - so, can you go over to her place? I had no way of locking it up ....."

"Sure, sure, whatever needs doing." Irvine agreed immediately, "I hope she's okay - you stay with her, man, and call me if there's any news."

"Sure. Thanks, Chris. Talk to you later."

"Later." said Irvine, hanging up.

Chris threw the phone onto the passenger's seat and glanced round at Shannon. She still hadn't stirred and he was relieved to see the hospital come in view.

"Nearly there, Shan." he said, "Just hang on."

*****


	23. Ch. 23

Ch. 23

Bursting through the main door of the emergency department of the hospital with Shannon still unconscious in his arms, Chris shouted for some help and before he knew what was happening, she was being wheeled away by a couple of nurses. As he moved to follow, a doctor stopped him and pointed in the direction of the waiting room.

"Sir, we're going to need you to wait until we've checked her over, so if you could ....." he began.

"But ....." tried Chris, not wanting to let her out of his sight.

"I'm sorry, sir, but it is procedure. Try not to worry though, your girlfriend will be in good hands."

"She's not ....." Chris started to explain, but the doctor had already disappeared, "..... my girlfriend."

With a heavy sigh, he trailed over to an empty seat in the corner and sank into it. Distractedly watching the motley assortment of typical late-night patients, Chris kept looking restlessly at his watch as the minutes ticked by, each one seeming to him to last for hours. Just when he was about to go in search of someone who could tell him what was happening, the doctor who had spoken to him returned. Chris leapt from his seat, bombarding the man with questions.

"How is she? Is she awake yet? Can I see her?" he asked sharply, without pausing to let the doctor speak.

"First things first." the doctor said calmly, holding up his hands, "I don't even know my patient's name yet ....."

"Shannon, Shannon Benson." supplied Chris quickly, "And I'm Chris Benoit, and you ....." he paused in order to read the nametag fixed on the top pocket of the doctor's white coat, "..... you're Doctor Jameson. So, now that the pleasantries are out of the way - how is she?"

Knowing concern lay at the root of Chris's brusque manner, the doctor merely nodded and motioned for Chris to follow him. Hoping he was taking him to see Shannon, Chris followed and soon found himself disappointed when he was led into a small office.

"Please, take a seat." instructed Doctor Jameson, rounding his desk to sit behind it as he did so.

Chris remained standing for a moment, his impatience giving way to fear as he noted the serious look on the face of the doctor.

"I don't need a seat." he said edgily, "If you got something to tell me, just tell me. Is it about Shannon?"

"Yes, it is about your girlfriend's condition." Doctor Jameson informed him, still convinced they were a couple, "Now, normally we would only be discussing this with immediate family but I feel we can bend the rules slightly in this case."

Hearing this, Chris considered just letting him think Shannon was his girlfriend but he realised he was going to have to explain what he thought had happened and, if he didn't tell the truth, it was going to get very complicated.

"Look, Doc." he sighed, "I'm gonna come clean here - she's just a friend, but she has been for a long time and ....."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but in that case ....."

Chris fought to control his temper, but slammed his fist down on the table in irritation, making the doctor jump. He leaned close to the now nervous man and spoke slowly.

"If you want me out of here, you're gonna have to throw me out." he said, straightening up and folding his arms across his chest, a look of determination plain on his face.

Looking up from his seat at the now strangely calm man, the doctor swallowed uneasily and began to stammer a response.

"Uh, well, you see ..... the thing is ....."

Feeling a little guilty for intimidating the man who was only doing his job, Chris decided to cut him a little slack.

"Look, I haven't been around lately, but she is a friend and I care about her. If I knew how to contact her family, I would, but I don't and I'm NOT leaving her alone. Just let me stay and, when Shannon wakes up, if SHE wants me to go, I will." promised Chris, leaning on the table.

The anxiety in his voice went a long way towards shaping the doctor's response.

"As you are our only contact, I suppose an exception can be made just this once." said the doctor reluctantly, "Firstly, I need to find out exactly what you KNOW to have happened - not what you THINK happened."

"Well if you go by what I know, then very little happened - the bedroom door was knocked off its hinges and I found Shannon lying on the floor with blood all over the back of her head." said Chris, his impatient tone implying he knew much more than that.

"But you do have suspicions as to what happened?"

"Yeah - I don't need a full-scale investigation to figure out her asshole boyfriend beat her up!"

"I should warn you, Mr. Benoit, that assault is a serious allegation to make without proof."

"Well, it's a serious offence without cause." Chris threw back.

The doctor nodded and continued, "The police will be notified by the hospital and no doubt they will be anxious to find the guilty party, considering the nature of the injuries received."

"What do you mean? Just how bad is she?" Chris demanded.

"Shannon has sustained various injuries ranging from a superficial cut to the cheek, to badly bruised ribs, to the head injury. Now, there may be further complications with the rib injury, such as fractures or even breaks but we will be unable to tell until the swelling goes down. At the moment it is the head injury which is causing greatest concern as Shannon is still unconscious, although we have reason to believe she will regain consciousness sooner rather than later." The doctor paused to look up from his notes at which he had been glancing and look seriously at Chris. "Something which has drawn our attention is the placement of the minor injuries, the quite numerous bruises, which have been sustained."

Chris looked at him blankly, "I don't understand - if they're minor, surely you should be concentrating on the more serious problems."

"I'm afraid this could indicate a more serious problem," explained Doctor Jameson, "The positioning of these bruises is consistent with that which would occur through an assault of a sexual nature."

Feeling as if someone had punched him in the face, Chris dropped onto the chair he had refused earlier and closed his eyes in shock.

"Tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means." he begged, before raising his head and looking the doctor square in the eye. "Are you telling me she was ....." he could barely bring himself to think it, let alone say it, "..... raped?"

"At this stage, we don't think so, but we can be almost certain of an attempt to do so. When Shannon wakes up, we'll know more."

"Can I see her now?"

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea. When she wakes up it will be good for her to see a familiar face."

*****

Moments later, the doctor led Chris into a small private room and, taking his pointed look as the hint which it was, backed out of the room and left him alone with Shannon.

"Oh, Shan, I knew he was no good, but THIS?" he groaned, making his way to a chair beside her bed.

Shannon lay motionless in the high hospital bed, long lashes closed but an expression of pain easily discernable on her face. A small cut stood out in stark contrast to her unusually pale, but otherwise flawless, skin. Her head was bandaged, her hair flowing from under the bandages and fanning over the pillows, and her left hand rested lightly on top of ribs which were presumably also bandaged. Her right hand lay limply by her side and, pained by this sight of her, Chris reached out to cover her hand with his.

"I swear I'll make sure that bastard pays." he vowed fervently, leaning over to kiss her lightly on the forehead, just below her bandages.

As he sat in that strangely quiet room, he merely watched Shannon intently for any sign that she was waking up and eventually his patience was rewarded. Suddenly he felt the slim fingers flex beneath his and, without opening her eyes, Shannon shifted uncomfortably, murmuring in pain as she did so.

"Shan?" Chris asked hopefully, "Shannon, can you hear me?"

Although there was no reply, Chris though that she had heard him as her head turned slightly as if trying to follow the sound of his voice. Still holding her hand tightly, he leaned closer and called her name. At first there was no further reaction, but finally her lashes flickered and her eyes opened. At first she stared past him unseeingly and it was only when he saw a flash of recognition that Chris realised he had been holding his breath. Her lips parted and Shannon tried to speak, but no sound emerged. Swallowing painfully, she wet her lips and tried again.

"Chris?" she managed in a whisper, "What ..... what are you doing here? Where am I?"

Unsure of what she remembered of her ordeal, Chris was reluctant to say too much.

"You were hurt and I found you." he explained carefully, "You're in hospital."

"Hurt?" she looked puzzled, but then nodded and raised her free hand to her head shakily. "My head ..... it hurts."

She tried to push herself into a sitting position and gave a little cry of pain, making Chris let go of her hand and jump to his feet.

"Careful, honey, more than just your head is gonna be hurting for a little while." he warned, laying a gentle, supporting hand on her ribs. "Try not to move too much."

"I feel kinda dizzy." she confessed weakly.

"I'll go get the doctor." said Chris anxiously, "He's been waiting on you waking up."

"No!" she said as quickly as she could, "Please, don't leave."

"Shannon, I'm not leaving you, darlin' - I'm only going to get the doctor, I'll be back before you know it."

"Please, Chris, don't go - not yet. I'll be okay. I just ..... I want to know what happened."

"Do you remember ..... anything?" he asked reluctantly, sitting down beside her on the edge of the bed. He felt her rest against him and was glad she was comfortable enough with him to do so trustingly.

"I remember being at the club and then the drive home," Shannon began, and even as she spoke, memories returned to her gradually. "I'd forgotten my jacket and Billy ..... he took me by surprize; he was so nice to me and gave me his own to wear.

She paused to try to remember more and Chris waited, a little puzzled and wondering if he had perhaps been too hasty in his presumptions. However, a look of fear swept over Shannon's features, her eyes widening, and she shivered involuntarily.

"It was him." she whispered, "HE did this to me. He was being so different and he kissed me, but then ....."

She stopped and reached out, relieved and a little reassured when her fingers found and were enveloped by Chris's. She took a deep breath, wincing from the pain which shot through her body, but could not steady her voice.

"H-He wouldn't ..... wouldn't s-stop." she choked out, "I asked him to, but he w-wouldn't. I got away once, but he knocked down the door ....." Her face crumpled and she could no longer hold back the tears which had been threatening, "Oh, God, Chris; he tried to rape me, he tried to rape me and I don't remember what happened - what if ..... what if he did?"

When she had managed that much, she buried her face in her hands and the rest dissolved into uncontrollable sobbing which racked her body, increasing her pain. Chris's heart went out to her, but, feeling more helpless than he had ever felt, he could think of nothing to say which would give her any comfort. Still being mindful of her injuries, he could only hope it was true that actions speak louder than words as he silently wrapped her in his arms, one hand stroking her hair soothingly while her hot tears dampened his shirt.

*****


	24. Ch. 24

Author's note: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews so far! I'm really sorry this hasn't been updated in a while, but here's a chapter to keep you going and then there should be much more pretty soon - or that's the plan anyway! *G* Meanwhile, if you want you could always read my other story, "Forever", LOL! Sorry, had to get that shameless plug in there somewhere! 0;-) Angel x

Ch. 24.

Eventually Shannon's tears slowed and stopped and she sat back, a little embarrassed by her outburst of emotion.

"God, I'm sorry, Chris - going to pieces on you like that." she apologised, wiping at her eyes with her hand, her shoulders still hitching with the occasional sob.

"Don't be silly, you don't have to apologise for anything." he assured her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I ....."

He was about to say something more, but they were interrupted at that point by the doctor.

"Mr. Benoit?" he said, with a quick smile for Shannon. "Good to see you're awake, Shannon, someone will be with you in just a second. No immediate problems I trust?"

"Bit sore and kinda dizzy." she told him, "I think I'll live."

"Glad to hear it. We'll get you some pain medication and keep you in under observation - it sounds like a case of concussion ....."

"I have to stay here?"

"I'm afraid so." insisted the doctor, "Now, I'll speak to you shortly, but I'm just going to borrow your friend for a moment. Mr. Benoit, if I could speak to you outside?"

Chris nodded and, assuring Shannon he would be as quick as he could, he followed the doctor out of the room.

"How does she seem to you?" asked the doctor.

"It's hit her hard." said Chris with a frown, "She's terrified - of him and of what he might have done to her."

"So it was the boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Chris nodded, clenching his fists involuntarily.

The doctor shook his head and sighed, "Well, at least I can give some good news - we are only dealing with a case of attempted rape. Of course that's bad enough, but maybe she'll draw a little comfort from that." He saw the relieved look cross the other man's face and smiled, "She may be shaken but, with her friends around her, she will recover. So, I'll just go have a word and then you can go back in, okay?"

*****

About five minutes later, Chris was back by Shannon's side and worrying about her sudden withdrawal, which was strange in light of the news the doctor had given her. Other than a quick, nervous glance in his direction when he had opened the door, she had not acknowledged Chris's return to the room and he was trying to figure out what she was thinking about.

"You must think I'm really stupid." she sighed, suddenly breaking the silence and making him frown.

"Of course not." he said firmly, "Why would I? This isn't your fault, if that's what you're thinking."

"I should have seen this coming." she said grimly, "I knew things weren't going too well and I still let it get to this. I WAS stupid - and what makes it worse is I had no good reason to - it wasn't as if we'd been together for a long time and I felt I had to make it work. I just ..... I dunno ..... drifted along, I guess. Look what that got me."

"Shannon, it doesn't matter. Nothing gives him, gives ANYONE, the right to do this - not to you or to anyone else. You're NOT stupid." said Chris forcefully.

"I can't help it - I FEEL stupid." she argued heatedly, "Stupid, and scared, and vulnerable, and I HATE feeling like this. I hate HIM for making me feel like this and I hate myself for letting him. I remember seeing women on the news who had been abused by their husbands or boyfriends or whoever and thinking how terrible it was - but at the same time, I couldn't help wondering how they could put up with so much, how they could let things get so bad. I always told myself I would NEVER let that happen to me - I just wouldn't take that kind of shit. I know he didn't ..... you know - but he could have and I'm still in a hospital bed; so ..... see how well that worked?"

"No one plans for these things to happen, you have to stop thinking this is your fault." insisted Chris, "You are by no means the one in the wrong here. Your so-called boyfriend is the one who should, and will, pay. You said yourself he's jealous and paranoid - how is it your fault if he overreacts about something insignificant? What could possible justify this?"

"Kissing." said Shannon unexpectedly, but in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Excuse me?"

"Us kissing - that's what he was overreacting about." explained Shannon.

Taken aback, Chris merely looked at her for a moment in silence, before something occured to him.

"How did he know?" he asked.

Shannon explained about the tape recorder quickly to an incredulous Chris. "He heard everything I said about him and then it wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on." she finished.

Chris tilted his head back and groaned, "Christ, Shan; in that case, if you're looking for someone to lay the blame on, it should be ME. If it hadn't been for me, this might not have happened."

"You know what? I think it would have. Maybe not now, but eventually - he'd have found something to make him snap." said Shannon.

"All the same, I'm starting to wish I'd never come back."

"Don't say that, Chris, I'm glad you're here." she said quietly.

He looked at her sharply, but decided she was simply referring to having someone to trust and looked down at his feet. "That bastard should be locked up." he said, wanting to change the subject. "And hopefully, he will be. You can still press charges for assault."

"NO!" she said in alarm, panic lighting her eyes.

"What? Shannon, you can't be serious! You can't even think about letting him get away with this ....." he exclaimed incredulously.

"I'm thinking it'd be a good way to stay out of hospital." she said wryly, "Chris, I just want to forget the whole thing - it's over and if I never see him again, it'll be too soon."

Chris just looked at her in disbelief. "The Shannon I knew wouldn't have stopped until he got what he deserved."

"Yeah? Well, the Shannon you knew came to earth with a bump! She found out the hard way that you don't always get what you want and that happy endings rarely happen."

"I know you're scared, Shan, but I ....."

"But what? But you won't let him hurt me again?" she guessed shrewdly, "I know you mean well, Chris, but what happens when you leave again? He'd take it all out on me and then I'd end up in a worse state than I'm in now."

"He could be behind bars by then." he tried lamely, knowing that by the time the case came to court, he would be long gone. "I don't want to go when you're like this ....." he finished apologetically.

"Don't worry, Chris." she said immediately, feeling guilty for making him feel bad, "I don't expect you to forget about your job - I didn't mean you shouldn't go, I'm not your responsibility - I got myself into this mess, I can get myself out."

"Shan, I feel responsible for getting you into this and I ....." he paused to choose his words carefully, "I care about you - I don't like seeing you like this and I don't want that piece of shit to think he can get away with it. Listen, you've been through a lot and you're bound to be tired - why don't you get some rest and have a think about it?"

"I'm not going to change my mind." she said determinedly, knowing what he was trying to do.

"Please, at least think about it ..... for me?" he pleaded, until she finally gave in.

"Fine, I'll THINK about it." she sighed reluctantly, "It's not like I'm doing anything else."

"Thank you." he smiled as she closed her eyes.

*****


	25. Ch. 25

Author's note: Well, I've FINALLY got the chance to update, sorry it took so long - hopefully the next chapter will be a bit quicker. Thanks for reading! Angel x

25. 

On top of her head injury and subsequent concussion, it was discovered, once the swelling went down, that Shannon was also suffering from three cracked ribs and, as a result, she was subjected to a two night stay in hospital. It would probably be safe to say that everyone would be relieved when she could go home as she was not a very good patient; she hated being cooped up and was anxious to leave, trying many times to convince her doctor that she didn't need to be in hospital. The only thing which was keeping her sane was the fact that she had frequent visitors in the forms of Paige and Chris, while even Chris Irvine, Nora and Terry had been popping in to see her. They were the only people who knew what had really happened to her as, at Shannon's request, Paige had informed the rest of the people who worked at the newspaper that Shannon was ill. She did not want everyone to know and would not even allow anyone to contact her parents as she didn't want them to worry or make a fuss. However, the issue with which those who did know were more concerned was that she still had not talked to the police. As she was obviously suffering more pain from her injuries than she would admit, no one wanted to put too much pressure on her, but they couldn't help thinking that she maybe wasn't handling the situation as well as she liked to think she was.

Nonetheless, Shannon admitted, if only to herself, that she hated the times between visits as it gave her too much time to think over the recent events, and even those which were not so recent. On one such occasion, she was therefore thankful when Paige came to visit unexpectedly when she should have been at work.

"Paige!" she exclaimed happily, wincing as she sat up to put down her already neglected book and hug her friend. "What are you doing here? What about work? Not that I'm not pleased to see you ...."

"Cancelled interview, but lets not talk about work - you'll get enough of that soon enough!" the brunette grinned, "So how are you?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess." sighed Shannon, "Still waiting to get out of this place though."

"Patient as ever, I see." teased Paige, taking a seat. "Have you heard anything about when you might get out?"

"Hopefully this evening, if everything's still okay."

"Do you need me to pick you up or anything?" asked Paige.

"That's okay - Chris insisted on stopping by to collect me. Thanks anyway though."

Paige smiled and raised her eyebrows knowingly, "Chris, huh? Still sticking with the 'just friends' story, are you?"

"Yes! I mean, no!" exclaimed Shannon, getting flustered, "I mean ..... it's not a story."

"Really? Oh." Paige paused and tilted her head thoughtfully, indicating a large bunch of brightly coloured flowers, "Who brought you these?" she asked innocently, already fairly sure that she knew the answer. "They're beautiful."

Shannon looked down at her hands and mumbled something unintelligible in a low voice.

"Huh? I didn't quite catch that ....." pushed Paige with a grin.

"Okay, okay! I said it was Chris. And don't look at me like that - he just wanted to cheer me up; it was sweet of him."

"Right!" said Paige sceptically, "I'm sure that's all it was."

In order to prevent Shannon getting annoyed, she quickly changed the subject by producing a small bag. "Anyways, I got you something too."

"Aww, you shouldn't have ....."

"Don't get too excited - grapes. Isn't that what you give someone in hospital?" grinned Paige and Shannon started to laugh.

"Well, the food here might be bad but at least between you and Chris Irvine I won't starve!" she giggled, producing an almost identical bag from the small locker beside her bed.

"Irvine? Which one's he?"

"Jericho." informed Shannon, making Paige's eyes light up suddenly.

"Y2J was here? And he brought you grapes too? That is so cool - we think alike!" she enthused, "You HAVE to introduce me! He is that hot blonde, isn't he?"

"Umm, I guess so." said Shannon, "You know, for someone who doesn't like wrestling ....."

"Well, sometimes you have to take an interest in these things ......" said Paige as Shannon rolled her eyes, "So who else was here? And stick to ring names please, for those among us who aren't privileged enough to be on first name terms with the famous!"

"Oh please - you make it sound like the President dropped by to say hello!" exclaimed Shannon.

"Who else?" insisted Paige.

"Just Rhyno ....."

"Oh, he's cute!" interrupted Paige, "Sorry - continue!"

"And Molly Holly." finished Shannon.

"She's the one with the pigtails, isn't she? With the little Dudley guy? They are the cutest couple - do you think that's real? Them being together, I mean."

"No, it's not real. As far as I know, she's just started going out with Terry. Rhyno, you know?"

"Really!" Paige practically squealed, "Awwww!"

"You sure you're not a secret wrestling fan? You seem to be familiar with the storylines." asked Shannon suspiciously.

"I may have watched it once or twice." said Paige vaguely, before turning the subject towards the latest gossip from work.

*****

Finally Paige rose from her chair and sighed reluctantly, "Well, I should probably get going - let you get some rest."

"Yeah," snorted Shannon, "Like I'm not getting enough of that! Thanks for coming, Paige; somehow you always manage to cheer me up!"

"Any time, hon, any time. If you need anything, you let me know."

"Sure, thanks."

"Well, I'll be off then. You look after yourself."

"You too." said Shannon with a warm smile, before looking at her quizzically as Paige still lingered by the door.

"Everything okay?" asked Shannon, "Is there something you wanna talk about; something that's bothering you?"

"I was just wondering ....."

"Uh-oh, I can tell what this is about." groaned Shannon.

"Then I'll just come out with it." said Paige, determined to address the issue, "Have you talked to the cops yet?"

"Paige ....."

"Don't 'Paige' me - you haven't, have you?" she frowned, "Shannon, are you insane?"

"I just ..... I just want to forget about it and I'm having enough trouble doing that already without having to go over it again and again with complete strangers ....."

"So you're gonna let HIM off the hook? He does this to you and gets away with it? What if he does something like this again - to someone else, or even YOU? How are you going to feel then - knowing you could have stopped him?"

Shannon found herself unable to meet the intense gaze of her friend and lowered her head, raising a hand to touch the bandaging covering her head wound self-consciously.

"Don't try to make me feel worse than I do already." she pleaded.

Paige sighed and hurried back to the bedside, "Shan, I'm not trying to make you feel bad; I just want to make sure Billy gets what he deserves. You know if the roles were reversed, you'd be doing exactly the same thing."

"And you know that you wouldn't thank me for it."

"Probably not at the time, but in the long run I would. I know Chris talked to you too, so please, Shan, just listen to us. We're only doing this 'cause we care about you ....."

"I know, but I have to deal with this in my own time." explained Shannon, "You guys have been great and I am so grateful; please, don't think I'm not."

"Listen, I'm gonna have to get back to work soon - think about it and I'll call tonight to see if you're home." With that Paige left the hospital, leaving Shannon with a lot to consider.

*****

That evening, the doctor came to see Shannon and break the good news to her that she was being allowed to go home.

"Now, you will have to come back in a few weeks to have your stitches removed and we'll check then to see how your ribs are healing, but until then, you're free to go. All you have to do is keep the wound as dry as possible and preferably covered and keep your ribs strapped too; other than that, get plenty of REST- agreed?"

"Agreed." she nodded.

"In that case, we'll give you some pain killers and let you go - your lift is waiting."

"Chris is here?"

"He is indeed - he's waiting outside for you." 

A short time later, Shannon was walking slowly towards reception to find Chris, carrying in one hand the sports bag which contained the few things Paige had brought for her stay and trying to avoid jostling her ribs.

"Hey!" came a call from behind her, "Are you disobeying doctor's orders already?"

"What?" said Shannon, turning a little too quickly for her protesting ribs and making herself wince, in turn causing Chris to jog up to her in concern.

"You okay?" he asked anxiously, taking her bag from her, "Knew you shouldn't be carrying that."

"Hey, Chris. And the bag was fine, it was YOU who made me turn too quick!" she said, but with a smile which dispelled any trace of blame from her light-hearted words. "I'm okay though."

"Sorry." he apologised sheepishly, "So are you ready to go?"

"Yep, thanks for coming to get me."

"No problem; come on, lets go - unless you WANT to stay here longer?" he grinned, offering her his arm.

"Hell no! I've had more than enough of hospital!" she exclaimed, gratefully slipping her arm through his, "Which way to the car?"

*****


	26. Ch. 26

26.

During the car journey, which was longer than expected due to surprisingly heavy, slow-moving traffic, the two remained quiet, engaging in very limited conversation. The radio was on in the background but, while Chris may have been listening to it as he concentrated on the road, Shannon's mind was elsewhere and she had not heard so much as a note. For some reason, she kept thinking back to the day she had met Chris at the arena - after everything that had happened, it was hard to believe that had only been a little under a week ago. She still remembered clearly that drive home which, in spite of a few similarities, was such a contrast to her current situation. She and Billy had not talked much either, but those long periods of silence had been tense and uncomfortable while with Chris, she felt no pressure to say something purely to break the silence. While Billy had focused on the road with a look of grim determination, Shannon had rested her head against the cool window, trying to ease the initial dull throbbings of a headache.

"Not much change there then." she thought wryly, lightly touching the bandages covering her stitches.

That little coincidence now seemed to Shannon to have been almost like a premonition, a sign of things to come for her; and sure enough, Billy had caused her nothing but headaches, in one way or another. Had she known even then the trouble which that innocent meeting would lead to? She had considered the possibility that she had brought at least some of this on herself by allowing the situation with Chris to go as far as it had, but Chris had assummed full responsibility for that and protested so vehemently that nothing could justify this kind of attack anyway, reassuring her a little. However, she felt that she couldn't have expected anything else from a man like Billy who increasingly seemed intent on getting everything his own way and to hell with everyone else. yet she didn't like to think that she had known as, to her, that meant she had stayed regardless and allowed him to do this to her.For a moment, as she thought about that, Shannon hardly knew who she was more angry with - her ex-boyfriend, or herself.

Before she could consider the issue any further, Chris pulled into the car park of her apartment building. She turned around, determined to tell him she could manage from here, but found that he had already jumped out of the car in order to open the passenger door for her.

"I'm not an invalid, Chris." she said stubbornly, "I can manage."

"Jeez, you try to do the gentlemanly thing and you still get grief - there's no pleasing you women!" he pretended to complain. However, he knew that she was the type of person who hated the very thought of being dependent on anyone and so, said nothing more as he went nonetheless to fetch her bag from the trunk.

Slowly Shannon climbed out of the car and made her way over to him, a repentent look on her face.

"Sorry." she apologised ruefully, "I'm being a bitch and you really don't deserve it. I just ....."

"Shan," he interrupted her kindly, "Don't worry about it. Just remember, you don't have to prove anything to anyone - least of all me. You can let people help you, you know? You're straight out of hospital and I know you want to forget that, but there's no sense in hurting yourself."

She knew he was right and simply nodded, allowing him to carry her bag for her across the steadily darkening car park.

As they entered the building, Chris remembered something which he had neglected to mention to Shannon and, unsure how she would respond, he quickly broke the news that her apartment was still in the same state as when she had been taken to hospital.

"Didn't like to touch anything, in case you were gonna contact the cops." he said, watching her carefully to guage her reaction.

Although she tried to shrug casually, he saw the deep breath which she drew first.

"Well, I'm not so I guess I'll just have to do some cleaning." she stated.

"It's up to you." said Chris, resigned to accepting her decision.

"It's up to me." she echoed faintly.

*****

In the lift on their way up to the seventh floor, Chris kept casting glances at Shannon out of the corner of his eye. In spite of her eagerness to leave the hospital, she seemed less than thrilled to back back home. Wishing he could read her thoughts and hoping he was not overstepping the mark, Chris reached out and squeezed her hand lightly. Although she turned to him in surprise, after a second she smiled gratefully and made no attempt to pull away, as he had initially suspected she would.

At the door of her apartment, Shannon paused before trying to unlock the door with a hand which was too unsteady for the task. Seeing she was having difficulty, Chris reached around her to once again cover her hand with his, guiding the key home. Unlocking the door, Shannon stepped through it, her awareness of Chris's presence right behind her bolstering her confidence a little and enabling her to look around and survey the all-too familiar scene. It somehow managed to simultaneously be both comforting and unsettling - two coffee mugs still stood on the coffee table; cushions from the couch were still strewn on the floor where they had landed; the smashed remnants of her tape recorder on the floor; her bedroom door knocked from its hinges.

"Yep, could do with a spring-clean." she tried to quip, even as her heart sank.

"It won't take that long." assured Chris, "Tell you what - I'll deal with the broken stuff, you put the rest straight, okay? We'll be done in no time."

Following his instruction, Shannon fixed the couch; not without some difficulty as she had to be careful not to jostle her ribs as she stooped to pick up the cushions. While she then collected the mugs and took them into the little kitchen, Chris scooped up the remains of the tape recorder and followed her to reluctantly drop them in the trash can in the kitchen, unwittingly making Shannon start at the sudden noise. As she did so, an unpleasant thought struck him and he only paused long enough to throw her a quick apology before hurrying out of the room.

Stepping over her fallen bedroom door, Chris glanced around the room and, as he expected, a large dark patch on the carpet caught his attention. Blood, his mind registered with a slight shuddered of revulsion. Shannon's blood. It wasn't that he was particularly squeamish; in his line of work there were times when you got to see a lot of blood and various injuries, many of them serious, some career-threatening. However, when it had been Shannon lying there, as he had thought, lifelessly - well, that had been a whole different ball game. He had thought she was .....

"Well, it doesn't matter now." he thought firmly, trying to get rid of the lingering image in his mind. "She's not, but she sure isn't gonna need a reminder like this."

While he was considering how to remove the offending mark, which had long since dried into the carpet and would be extremely difficult to remove, he heard a soft step behind him and turned sharply.

"The door looks totalled." said Shannon quietly, looking at him curiously, "What's up? You look kinda ..... preoccupied."

"It's nothing." he said hastily, trying to think of a way to keep her out of the room but it was already too late as Shannon was staring past him at the dark brownish-red mark.

While she knew that what had happened to her had been serious, it was only now that she realised that the outcome could have been much worse. It was only now that she thought about how long she could have lain there, in a pool of her own blood.

"You saved my life, Chris." she said in a low tone, "If you hadn't turned up when you did ....."

"Don't think about that." he said, crossing the short distance between them to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, "You got through it and that's all that matters. You go sit down and I'll get rid of that mark - you won't even know it was there."

Shannon smiled, but shook her head briefly before grabbing the bag which Chris had deposited just inside the room, beside the fallen door.

"What are you doing?" protested Chris, about to take the bag from her but she merely dropped it on top of the stain.

"I've been planning on redecorating." she said, "But that'll have to do in the meantime; that'll never come out now. Come on, I'll make you a coffee."

*****

When he had finished his coffee, it was with great reluctance that Chris told Shannon he should get going. She walked him to the door, but stopped him before he could open it.

"Chris, thank you so much for ..... well, for everything." she said softly, feeling starngely self-conscious but nevertheless placing a hand on his chest and leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"You are more than welcome." he smiled, but she saw his blue eyes quickly turn serious again. "Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"

"I'll be fine." she said, hoping she sounded more believable to him than she did even to her own ears.

Although he was unconvinced, Chris nodded. "Call me if you need anything, anytime. Promise?"

"I promise." she said gratefully, "Thanks."

For a moment she just watched as he headed down the hall towards the lift, longing to call out and stop him leaving. She knew all it would take would be a word and he would stop, but instead she closed the door and rested her forehead against it, her eyes tightly closed.

*****


	27. Ch. 27

A/N: I can't believe it's taken me so long to update this! *hangs her head in shame* I'm hoping the writers' block has lifted and, slowly but surely, I'm determined to finish this - with any luck updates will not take so long, but I'm not gonna make any promises I can't keep! Thanks for reading. O:-)

Ch. 27. 

Knowing that Chris was gone, Shannon headed slowly and reluctantly into her bedroom. Trying to avoid glancing around the room, she kept her eyes focused on the bed as she tried to change into her pyjamas. Only by causing herself a great deal of pain did she manage to struggle out of her sweat pants and t-shirt and by the time she was ready for bed, her whole body ached. Pulling back the covers, she eased herself down onto the bed and reached to turn off the bedside lamp. Even when the normally welcoming darkness enveloped her, she could not relax; every little sound seeming out of place and somehow threatening. Silently telling herself not to be so ridiculous, she closed her eyes and hoped that sleep would come quickly. 

It was only after two long hours of staring up at the ceiling and trying to remain as still as possible that exhaustion finally overtook her, her eyes becoming heavy with sleep - too heavy to keep open. However, with sleep came dreams; dreams which became nightmares, replaying in her head, not the actual events of the recent past, but a version which had been created, twisted and convoluted, by her subconscious. These nightmares plagued her in a seemingly endless and all too realistic assault of images and sounds - even in the depths of sleep, Billy forced his way into her room; his hands outstretched to capture her, his words taunting her.....

Tossing and turning in spite of her injuries, Shannon whimpered fearfully in her sleep and a single teardrop glistened beneath her still closed lashes. Just as her dream reached its terrifying climax, as she realised she had no means of escape from her supposed boyfriend's rough and unwanted touch, she woke with a jump at the sound of a scream. A scream which issued forth from her own lips. Pain pulsed through her body, a lingering effect of her fitful sleep, and she was trembling uncontrollably. Too afraid to move and unwilling to even turn on the light, she sat bolt upright in bed, clutching at the covers. Breathing deeply in an attempt to regain control of her emotions, she stretched out a shaky hand - reminded for an instant of an old childhood fear of what she might touch if she did just that - and at the touch of a switch, the room was flooded with soft light. Nervous eyes flitted round the room, ascertaining that all was as it should be, and then darted suspiciously to her now permenantly open doorway and the shadows to which it led.

Sliding out of bed, one arm wrapped around her injured ribs, she tiptoed to the doorway and listened. Almost too scared to breathe, she gazed into the shadowy living room of her apartment and then hit the light switches, bathing the room in colour. Without pausing for long, she made her way into the small kitchen and turned on the lights immediately. It was only then that she could take time to think clearly and when she realised just how paranoid her actions were, she had to fight to keep back tears as she sank onto a stool at the breakfast bar and buried her face in her hands. When dawn broke and sunlight mingled with the artificial lights which were all still burning, Shannon was still in the same position. Looking around cautiously, she forsook all hope of sleep and returned to her bedroom to struggle into some clothes. It was a slow task and when she finally accomplished it, she merely perched on the edge of her bed feeling almost numb. A lack of sleep clouded her perception and as a result, the shrill ring of the telephone caused her to have to bite down on her lip in an attempt to stifle the little cry which nonetheless escaped.

Lifting the receiver, she was reluctant to even speak until she heard a familiar, inquiring voice.

"Shan? You there?"

"Y-Yes." she managed, trying hard to stop her voice shaking. "Chris?"

"Yeah, it's me. I know it's a bit early to be calling, but I'll admit it - I wanted to check up on you. Didn't wake you, did I?"

Considering the night she had been subjected to, Shannon almost laughed at the idea. "No, you didn't do that."

"Didn't sleep, huh?" he said sympathetically, "Ribs or head?"

"Neither. Both. I ....." she trailed off weakly, not wanting to admit what was really wrong.

"Shannon? Are you okay?"

"I ..... I'll survive." she said, before making her reluctant confession, dismayed to hear tears creep into her voice. "I had a ..... bad dream. I can't stop thinking about ..... HIM ....."

"I KNEW I shouldn't have left you over there on your own." he chastised himself, having heard the blatant fear in her voice, "Don't worry, I'm gonna just jump in the car and I'll be there in no time. Okay?"

"'If you're sure. I'm sorry ....."

"Enough with the apologising! What are friends for?" he said, trying to reassure her the she was not being an inconvenience, realising that was what she was thinking.

"T-Thank you."

"Like I said before - you're welcome. See you soon."

*****

Chris was as good as his word and it was not long before Shannon heard a loud knocking at the door. She hurried to open it and was about to unlock it when she suddenly pulled back - what if it wasn't Chris?

"Shan? It's me - it's Chris."

Almost overwhelmed by her feelings of relief, she opened the door and Chris stepped inside quickly, obviously anxious to make sure she was okay. However, as soon as he saw her, he knew that she must have had a pretty rough night - she was much too pale and there were dark shadows beneath her tear-filled eyes. From the way she was holding her ribs, he could tell she must also be in a great deal of pain and she was biting her lip to keep back tears. Hating to see her like this, he held his arms out to her and with a little sob, she practically fell into his embrace. Rocking her gently, he smoothed a soothing hand over her hair and tried his best to comfort his stricken friend.

"Shhh, darlin', don't cry - it's okay."

But she merely buried her face against his shoulder and cried bitterly, finally allowing all of her pent-up tension to escape.

*****

As her storm of tears subsided, Shannon actually gave a little wry laugh and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. 

"You must think the only thing I do is cry." she said, her shoulders still hitching occasionally.

"You've had a bad experience - you're allowed to be upset." he said, drawing back a little to look at her, but still keeping his arms around her.

"But to be this freaked out by a dream - silly, huh?"

"You're not silly." he disagreed, "I think all things considered, it's understandable."

"It's this place; it's a constant reminder. I HATE this - I'm scared to stay in my own home because of ... HIM." she confessed, her voice filled with loathing at the thought of Billy.

"Hey, don't think about him - he's not worth it. And you don't have to stay here ....."

"I shouldn't have to leave my own HOME ....." she stressed.

"That's right, but you have to admit, you need a break from the place."

Thinking about it, Shannon nodded reluctantly. "True, but where am I going to go? The only person who knows about ..... what happened ..... is Paige and I don't want to impose on her."

"I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind." smiled Chris, "But what about the hotel? You could get a room there for a couple of days?"

"I suppose, but there's something else I'm gonna do as well." she said, a sudden spark of determination lighting her eyes.

"What's that?"

"Go to the police. I can't go around being scared all the time and I think I will be unless I know he's got what he deserves."

With a supportive smile, Chris leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "You're doing the right thing."

"I sure hope so." she sighed, "God, I bet you didn't think your trip to Edmunton would be anything like this!"

"It's been a little more eventful than I expected." he agreed with a laugh.

"I'm sorry you had to get involved in this mess, but ..... well, I'm glad you're here." she said, wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him tightly.

Although Chris returned her hug warmly, he did not trust himself to speak as a wistful look crossed his face, unseen by Shannon.

*****


	28. Ch 28

A/N: Yup, after a very long hiatus, it's finally back! ~gasps of shock all round~ And this time, I think I may actually be getting my motivation back for this fic! Here's hoping that's true and thanks for reading! ^_^

28.

Trying to find a comfortable position, Shannon turned gingerly from her back onto her front and tucked one arm under her pillow as she closed her eyes again. However, she did not go back to sleep straight away; instead she couldn't help thinking about how glad she was that Chris had returned. While it could certainly be argued that he was the catalyst which had pushed Billy too far, she chose to see the situation as a ticking bomb just waiting to explode. As far as she was concerned, she was lucky that Chris was around just when she needed him the most. They had been so close when they were younger, even before they had started dating, and she had missed him so much - she would be glad to at least recapture that friendship.

In spite of their long separation, he had been fantastic - he had really been there for her and she would not forget that. Earlier that morning, he had taken her to the hotel and tried to get her a room so that she could have a break from the bad memories evoked by her apartment. Having been told that all the rooms were taken, he had looked defeated for only a second before making a tentative suggestion - that she stay with him. 

"Chris, I couldn't - it's too much to ask ….." she had protested. Yet at the back of her mind was the realisation that she would love to accept his generous offer - she would feel safe and it would be just like old times.

"Don't be silly." he had insisted, "You're exhausted; you need to get some rest and there's plenty of room."

And so, she had ended up following him to his hotel suite and crashing out on the bed for some much needed sleep, whilst he settled down in front of the television. He had let her sleep until lunch time, but then woke her up to get something to eat from room service and advise that she try to stay awake for the rest of the day in case she upset her body-clock and ended up facing another sleepless night. Heeding his words of wisdom, she had happily spent the day catching up on the lighter moments of their lives since the last time they had seen each other. Although they did not admit it to each other, they both found themselves feeling more and more wistful about the time they had lost. 

By evening, Chris was surprised how quickly the day had passed and hoped that Shannon had not been bored by being cooped up in the hotel all day. He had voiced this concern only for Shannon to laugh wryly and protest.

"Are you kidding?" she had exclaimed, "It's been great just sitting here talking. It's been a long time since I did that with anyone except Paige - unless I've been interviewing them!"

"Not even with ….. him?" he had asked gently; although he was beginning to get a fairly good idea of what her relationship with Billy had been like.

"ESPECIALLY not with him." 

"So, has there been anyone else? Anyone serious?" he had asked, trying to sound nonchalant and not too curious.

"There haven't been many - guess I just haven't found the right person." she had said in a low voice, studying her hands. "But, hey, what about you? You've seen my disastrous love-life first hand - it's about time you spilled the beans on yours!"

"Not much to tell - there's been a few people, but ….. really only one who was serious." he had confessed, sparking her interest. "Yeah, we even got married ….."

A mix of emotions had risen up in her, but they were all swept aside by sheer increduality as she had exclaimed, "And you're only telling me this now! What happened?"

"We … it … it just didn't work out." he had told her awkwardly, "I just don't think it was … meant to be."

"Oh my God, Chris, I'm so sorry ….." she had apologised quietly, "It must have been tough. I didn't mean to drag up any … bad memories or anything …"

"Hey, it's okay; don't worry about it - it's in the past. We've been divorced for quite a few years now. And it was probably for the best anyway - if we'd stayed together, we'd just have ended up making each other miserable."

"I guess. But still ….." she had trailed off sympathetically; merely squeezing his hand, unsure of what to say.

He had held onto her hand just a little longer than he meant to, before letting go self-consciously and changing the subject by suggesting ordering pizza and a movie from room-service - an offer which she eagerly accepted.

*****

After they had eaten and watched the movie, Chris noticed Shannon trying to stifle her yawns and suggested that she have an early night.

"You wouldn't think I could be tired after sleeping most of the day, but I guess I am." she had admitted, "But I don't mind staying up a little longer if you want to watch TV or something ….."

Frowning in confusion, it had taken Chris a moment to understand what she was getting at but he had then just smiled. "Oh, you don't have to sleep on the couch! You can take the bed again - I don't mind."

She had shook her head. "But that's not fair; it is your room after all."

"Exactly. And you're the guest. Besides, it really wouldn't do your ribs any favours to be sleeping on the couch."

Considering the situation, she had made a suggestion, looking a little embarrassed.

"Instead of arguing ….. since we're both adults, why don't we just ….. share the bed? It is a double and it makes sense ….. I don't mind if you don't?"

Looking at her unsurely, he had thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "I don't mind - as long as you're sure."

Then it had been Shannon's turn to shrug. "We are friends after all and to be honest, I'd feel better knowing you were there."

Remembering how scared she had been by her ordeal and just glad she felt she could trust him, Chris had nodded in understanding.

*****

Now as she lay beside him in the darkness, lost in memories of the past, she longed to tell him how just much it meant to her that, after everything, he had still supported her through this and yet something held her back. She wanted to tell him the truth - that she had missed him more than she had ever thought possible. Yet, in spite of everything he was doing for her, it seemed too late. He had obviously coped a lot better than she had.

"He got married, for Christ's sake!" she told herself silently. "What about me? What have I got to show for the years we've been apart? He's got a great career which he loves, traveling all over the world - I've got a job that's going nowhere in the same town I've lived in all my life! He's moved on - I've stuck in a rut. Ending up with a violent boyfriend was not exactly how I always dreamed my life would go. If it wasn't for Chris turning up, I'd probably still be with him - it's seeing him again that made me remember what I really wanted out of life. But soon he's gonna leave all over again ….. What then?"

Little did she know that Chris was not really asleep, but was in fact also deep in thought as he lay with his back to her.

"Friends ….. that's all I am to her now - a friend. How can I settle for that? I'd always thought that if we did meet again, she'd be married, probably with a kid or two - the perfect little family. Now that I know that's not the case, how can I leave her? But I burned that bridge - I'm lucky to even have her friendship considering I'm mostly to blame for this mess. If I hadn't come back, she would still be happy with ….. with him. But would I really want to know she was stuck with a shit like that? I want her to know how I ….. but I can't screw up her life any more. I have to just let her go. That's what she'd want. How could I ever have imagined staying with Isabelle when I knew what I had with Shannon? She would only ever have been second best. I wish ….. but what's the point in wishing? It's not like they come true - I should know." he thought wistfully.

"He's the only one I've ever really loved." thought Shannon; her eyes widening as that realization struck her, seemingly out of the blue. "Oh my God, he really is!"

"Dammit, I still love her - I always have!" thought Chris simultaneously, closing his eyes in despair as that fully dawned on him and sank in. "After all this time, I still love her ….."

*****

TBC…..


End file.
